2021 47th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration
2021 47th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

Theme
Our Joy, Our Liberation
Keynote
Writer, Speaker, 'Internet Yeller'
MLK Leadership Awardees
Director, MIT Program in Women's & Gender Studies
Professor of Fiction Writing, MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Assistant Director of Undergraduate Education, MIT Sloan School of Management
Associate Director of Operations, National Alliance for the Advancement of Haitian Professionals (NAAHP)
Program for Research in Mathematics, Engineering and Science (PRIMES)
MIT Department of Mathematics
MIT Spotlight
MIT hompage, 18 January 2021. Shown is a mural of Martin Luther King Jr., featuring a quote from his 1964 book, Why We Can’t Wait. The mural is located in Central Square's Modica Way AKA 'Graffiti Alley,' an ever-changing public art installation in Cambridge, MA.
Program
MIT's 47th Annual Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
February 10, 2021
11:00AM - 1:00PM EST
VIRTUAL
Due to the pandemic, the 2021 MLK Celebration is being held virtually for the first time. The celebration also marks the 25th anniversary of the MLK Leadership Awards, which MIT has awarded annually since 1995 to students, alumni, staff, groups, and faculty who embody the spirit of Dr. King’s work. As part of the celebration theme "Our Joy, Our Liberation," registrants are encouraged to share a photo that captures a moment of joy for the slideshow to be shared during the celebration.
Schedule
11am - 12:30pm Online program to include:
- Keynote address by Ijeoma Oluo (see details below)
- Brief remarks by MIT Biological Engineering graduate student Corban Swain, Urban Studies and Planning undergraduate student Mimi Wahid, and Open Learning staff member Lana Scott
- Celebration of MLK Leadership Award winners: Dayme Delgado (UG), Marisa Gaetz (G), Natalie Petit (Staff), Helen Elaine Lee (Faculty), and PRIMES (Group)
- Musical selections by The Mastadonis Project
12:30pm - 1pm Community connections
Members of the MIT community join Zoom breakout rooms. There will be no agenda for this time. The student and staff speakers will be in attendance to engage in discussion about their remarks.
Poster
Press
“Our Joy, Our Liberation” was the theme of this year’s MLK Celebration, the 47th such annual event held by MIT. Clockwise from top left: Ijeoma Oluo, President L. Rafael Reif, Lana Scott, Oby Nwodoh, Corban Swain, and Mimi Wahid.
Ijeoma Oluo: “What we are fighting for is Black joy”
Keynote speaker at MIT’s annual MLK Celebration says fighting white supremacy requires far more than just reducing its harm.
David L. Chandler | MIT News Office | February 11, 2021
Video