OSU to Host 36th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

The annual Oregon State University celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., takes place Jan.13-19. This is the 36th year of the event. It is one of the university’s longest-running social justice events.

The weeklong series consists of workshops, speakers, service opportunities and other community engagement events hosted by departments and units throughout Oregon State.

The most popular event is the Peace Breakfast, which will be held at 9 a.m. Jan. 15 in the CH2M Hill Alumni Center Ballroom. The breakfast is free but registration is required. During the breakfast, three legacy awards will be presented by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Committee. They include the Phyllis S. Lee Award,  the Frances Dancy Hooks Award, and, for the first time, the Oscar Humberto Montemayor Award.

At 11 a.m., keynote speaker Melissa Harris-Perry will speak in The LaSells Stewart Center’s Austin Auditorium. Harris-Perry is a writer, political commentator, former MSNBC TV host and the Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University. 

Harris-Perry is also the author of the award-winning books “Barbershops, Bibles and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought,” and “Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America.”

Following the keynote address, all community members are invited to join in a Peace March from The LaSells Stewart Center to the Student Experience Plaza.

For accommodations contact (541)737-4717 or events@oregonstate.edu. For a full calendar of events visit, leadership.oregonstate.edu/mlk.