MLK Day: Michael Eric Dyson to speak at Wake Forest University

Each year, Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University collaborate to host a major celebration to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The theme of this year’s program, “On Common Ground: Where Do We Go From Here?,” highlights the call for the next generation of leaders to help mend historical divides and end systemic injustice.

On Monday, Jan. 22, Michael Eric Dyson will present the 18th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day keynote speech at 7 p.m. in Wait Chapel.

The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Visit wfuic.eventbrite.com to register.

Dyson has been named one of the 150 most powerful African Americans by Ebony magazine. The Philadelphia Weekly contends that Dyson “is reshaping what it means to be a public intellectual by becoming the most visible black academic of his time.”

Most recently, he’s published “Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America.” Named a bestseller by publications such as The New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and more, the book has been hailed as a profound and provocative analysis of modern-day race relations.

Dyson is University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University – but his influence has carried far beyond the academy into prisons and bookstores, political conventions and union halls, and church sanctuaries and lecture stages across the world.

Other events

Earlier in the evening, Winston-Salem State University will host an invitation-only banquet where one student and one faculty/staff member from both Winston-Salem State and Wake Forest will receive the “Building the Dream” award in recognition of their efforts toward improving social justice and building community.

On Saturday, Jan. 20, Winston-Salem State University will host the 2018 MLK Day of Service Read-In in the Donald J. Reaves Student Center from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The event is part of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service and promotes King’s legacy of service, literacy and community empowerment to children ages 4-10.

For more information on the joint celebration, contact the Wake Forest Office of Multicultural Affairs at 336-758-5864, or Winston-Salem State University Student Activities and Engagement at 336-750-3351.