Virginia Tech will honor and remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of events beginning Monday, Jan. 18, with a live keynote address by Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, at 5 p.m. This year’s theme is “We Cannot Stand Alone.”
Shabazz’s event will be followed by another live keynote address featuring Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, on Jan. 25 at noon. Nikki Giovanni will open that event with some poetry. Vice President for Strategic Affairs and Diversity Menah Pratt-Clarke will moderate the conversation on Jan. 25. Both events will broadcast live through the InclusiveVT YouTube Channel.
King maintained a vision for a more diverse nation where all people experienced the benefits of equality. He understood the importance of unifying the masses in the push for one common goal. His legacy provides an ideal model for how the fight for inequality continues even today.
Virginia Tech’s theme for this year’s observances, “We Cannot Stand Alone,” recognizes that the community must present a united front and must stand tall to condemn social injustice and seek common, peaceful ground, not hostility or conflict. Virginia Tech recognizes that the legacy of King embodied influential decisions, monumental actions and unfaltering progressions of humanitarian rights.
The Virginia Tech community remains committed to its motto of Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) in the spirit of community, diversity and excellence in furtherance of Dr. King’s legacy.
