University of Michigan
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium
2026
Unbowed and Unbroken: The Enduring Struggle for Justice
MLK Keynote Memorial Lecture
January 19, 2026 | 10:00 to 11:30 am
Hill Auditorium
The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.
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40th Annual Keynote Memorial Lecture featuring Donzaleigh Abernathy and Derrick Johnson
Donzaleigh Abernathy is the youngest daughter of civil rights leader Rev. Ralph David Abernathy and godchild of Martin Luther King, Jr., grew up at the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, witnessing and participating in pivotal events such as the Freedom Rides, the March on Washington, and the Selma to Montgomery march. She and her siblings helped integrate schools in the South and observed historic decisions shaping American law, including the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. Abernathy later authored "Partners to History," contributed to the Smithsonian, and won awards for her dramatic works.
Abernathy has been a prominent speaker on civil rights and implicit bias, addressing audiences at major conferences and universities, including Harvard and Michigan State. She’s had a distinguished acting career in acclaimed films and television, produced educational documentaries, and written and performed plays celebrating African American history. She has also served as a foundation trustee, CDC spokesperson, and volunteers for juvenile justice in Los Angeles.
Derrick Johnson has served as President and CEO of the NAACP since 2017, guiding the organization through a period of revitalization. Under his leadership, the NAACP has launched impactful initiatives such as the Facebook “Log Out” campaign against misinformation, the Jamestown to Jamestown Partnership marking 400 years of African history in America, and the “We Are Done Dying” campaign highlighting healthcare inequities. Johnson also led the successful 2020 Supreme Court case protecting DACA recipients and has taken strong stances on issues like blackface, church burnings, and the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
Born in Detroit and a graduate of Tougaloo College and South Texas College of Law, Johnson has dedicated his career to advancing civil rights and improving communities, especially in Mississippi. As state president of the NAACP in Mississippi, he championed voting rights and education, helping secure millions in local improvements. Johnson is a respected legal and academic contributor, guest lecturing at institutions like Harvard Law School and appearing regularly in national media to advocate for justice and equality.
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2026 theme statement
Unbowed and Unbroken – The Enduring Struggle for Justice
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., taught us that the pursuit of justice is neither linear nor easy. On December 11, 1964, Dr. King accepted the Nobel Peace Prize and gave a speech entitled “The Quest for Peace and Justice.” In it, he said:
"But before we reach the majestic shores of the Promised Land, there is a frustrating and bewildering wilderness ahead. We must still face prodigious hilltops of opposition and gigantic mountains of resistance. But with patient and firm determination, we will press on…"
As we honor Dr. King’s legacy, we center our reflection and action around the theme: Unbowed and Unbroken: The Enduring Struggle for Justice. This theme calls on us to embody both the refusal to yield to injustice and the irrepressible resolve to answer the call to equality, even when the path is steep and the journey long.
Unbowed: The Posture of the Soul
Unbowed speaks to the posture of the soul that stands tall, refusing to exist as anything less than the fullness of humanity to which we all are entitled. It is the audacity to face the entire landscape of oppression, not in resignation, but in defiant hope, believing in the possibility of change:
"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."
We may entertain compromise, but never capitulation.
Unbroken: Strength Through Struggle
Unbroken signals the relentless strength forged in the fire of adversity. It remembers the oppressive history and the battle-worn yet steadfast fighters for freedom who have persisted through storm and strife and who have passed the torch forward. The vision remains undimmed, the purpose undeterred by the discriminatory tactics of yesteryear or the fresh injustices of today. The posture of strength is reinforced by faith in the necessity of a just outcome.
The Power of “And”
Unbowed and Unbroken expresses dual truths: The conjoining of unbowed and unbroken emphasizes the duality of strength. Justice requires that we stand strong and endure. Not merely for ourselves, but for those who come after. Not in isolated moments, but in a continuously unfolding movement which requires us to keep pressing forward. We must press forward unbowed in posture, unbroken in purpose.
But it is in the emphasis of the inextricable union of Unbowed and Unbroken where the enduring power of the struggle for justice is revealed. The “and” is essential; it is not enough to stand tall if we cannot also withstand the storms. It is not enough to be steadfast if we are not also unrelenting in the unapologetic posture that demands the worthiness of respect and fairness.
The Struggle for Justice is a Journey
Justice resounds with both: the unwavering refusal to bend, and the tenacity to remain whole through adversity. This dual posture of standing strong yet enduring reflects the deepest lessons of Dr. King’s life. He taught us that true progress is achieved not in solitary moments of courage, but through persistent, collective, and resilient movement. It is the unyielding spirit of “and” that propels us forward, not merely for ourselves, but for generations yet to come.
Justice calls us to more than an occasional act of resistance; it calls us to sustained action. The philosophy of being unbowed and unbroken is sung in the freedom songs of the civil rights movement, urging us to keep walking, keep talking, keep pressing forward together:
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round
Turn me round, turn me 'round
Ain't gonna let nobody, turn me 'round
I'm gonna keep on a walkin', keep on a talkin'
Walkin' into freedom land
Traditional Freedom Song
In our time, new forms of old injustices still persist — in systems, in silence, in the weariness that tempts us to give up. But the call remains: to stand unbowed and unbroken until justice rolls down like waters. In pressing forward, we must claim the anatomy of a posture that is rooted in the clarity that when we are unbowed, we persist with dignity, bearing witness to injustice and refusing to be diminished by it. When we are unbroken, we cultivate endurance, drawing strength from community, history, and righteous conviction to sustain a labor for change.
As in the past, our journey ahead is buoyed when our strength is rooted in commitment. Not to the comfort of complacency, but to the vigorous movement of hope, action, and accountability – undaunted by setbacks, emboldened by purpose, and united by the dream of true equality. To stand unbowed and unbroken in pursuit of justice is to embody the enduring spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:
We rise with dignity, as King rose, refusing to be diminished by injustice, refusing to bow to fear or complacency, always believing in the inherent worth of every person. Dr. King often quoted William Cullen Bryant, “truth crushed to the earth will rise.”
We remember King’s relentless hope and his call to “press on” despite prodigious opposition; we honor those who marched beside him and those whose names may be lost to history, but whose spirit of resistance lives in our every step.
We echo King's admonition that “we must never allow ourselves to become satisfied with unattained goals.” Instead, we answer his call to action with movement and hope and accountability – undaunted, united, and determined in our pursuit of true equality.
Together, we remember and honor those who came before, take up the mantle with clarity and compassion, and persist through hardship with the knowledge that each step widens the path for those who will follow.
As we continue the movement forward in strength and resiliency, let us renew our collective commitment. Let us be bold in vision, persistent in action, and enduring in hope.