Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation 2025
Featuring keynote speaker Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author of āCasteā and āThe Warmth of Other Sunsā
During the 2025 event, Isabel Wilkerson talked about caste systems around the world, how they become empowered, and what it might be like to disrupt them. Wilkerson also answered questions and signed copies of her books.Ā
Freedom Intersections
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister, activist and political philosopher, was one of the most influential and celebrated civil rights leaders in U.S. history. Before his April 4, 1968, murder in Memphis, King became the youngest man to win the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 35. His iconicĀ and hisĀ continue to resonate across multiple generations today.
āFreedom intersections,ā the theme of the 2025 convocation, guided a community exploration of how global power dynamics and solidarity have intersected over the decades to propel current and past freedom movements, including the U.S. civil rights movement.
Participants were also invited to consider the following excerpt from Dr. Kingās āLetter from a Birmingham Jailā within the present-day context: āInjustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.ā
Isabel Wilkerson
Isabel Wilkerson (photo by Leslie Andrews)
Isabel Wilkerson is the author of the bestsellers āā and ā.ā She won a Pulitzer Prize in 1994, becoming the first Black woman to earn the accolade for feature writing and individual reporting.
In 2016, former President Barack Obama awarded Wilkerson the National Humanities Medal for "championing the stories of an unsung history."
āThe Warmth of Other Sunsā won the National Book Critics Circle Award.Ā More than 30 publications listed the book among its best of the year, including theĀ Los Angeles Times,ĢżThe Washington Post, andĀ The New York Times, which also named the book one of the 100 best books of the 21st century. In 2020,ĢżTime magazine named āCasteā nonfiction book of the year, and Oprah Winfrey chose it for her book club.
A Howard University alumna, Wilkerson has taught at Princeton, Emory, Boston and other universities across the United States, Europe and Asia. Learn more about the authorās work by visiting theĀ .
Event Sponsors
This event was sponsored by theĀ Center for African and African American Studies,ĢżCollege of Engineering and Applied Science, Strategic Resources and Support,Ģż, Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and .