Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2025

Reposted from the Social Justice Collaborative’s Celebrating Diversity series.

Dear Emersonians,

Today, we write to honor the ideals of a private citizen, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his painstaking efforts that monumentally shifted the direction of the United States and the world.

The third Monday of January each year is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an annual federal holiday held in celebration of the life of Dr. King. He is one of many prolific leaders of the over a decade-long civil rights movement that led to race-based desegregation of schools and interstate travel, the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Dr. King Day became a federal holiday after over 15 years of advocacy from Coretta Scott King and many others.

At Emerson, we believe that having and honoring a diverse community is an imperative. We are grateful for Dr. King’s role in expanding opportunities to engage in diverse learning environments like our own.

Learn more about the Civil Rights Movement

The work of the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. King was rooted in advancing human rights for African Americans and Blacks in the United States, but its impact fundamentally transformed “equal protection of the laws” and charted a legal legacy benefiting women, other BIPOC communities, immigrants, LGBTQ+, and all citizens of the country. These efforts inspired human rights movements around the globe.

In his speech to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, Dr. King said: “I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history.”

Dr. King’s legacy is ultimately about humanitarianism: caring for our neighbors and fellow citizens, and being in staunch opposition to injustice anywhere.

In his 1956 address “The Birth of a New Age,” MLK encouraged his listeners to embrace an ethic of interconnectedness: “Whatever you are doing, consider it as something having cosmic significance, as it is a part of the uplifting of humanity. No matter what it is, no matter how small you think it is, do it right.”

At Emerson, our commitment to collaboration, equity, creativity, and inclusion provide each of us with an opportunity to reflect on King’s legacy and ask ourselves how we can each do what is right in service to uplifting humanity and everyone’s human rights.

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Emerson.

Ways to Engage Locally

Boston

If you are at the Boston campus, consider traveling across the Boston Common to visit “The Embrace” statue, a monument to Dr. King that honors local civil rights heroes, including Emerson alum, Miss Elma Lewis ’43, whom Emerson’s Elma Lewis Center is named after.

Well

If you are at Kasteel Well, consider attending Stichting Martin Luther King Lezing on April 4, 2025. This annual lecture aimed at promoting Martin Luther King’s legeacy is held in Amsterdam or The Hague.

Los Angeles

If you are at Emerson Los Angeles, consider reviewing this MLK Story Map website, which shares more about Dr. King’s involvement and the Civil Rights Movement in Los Angeles.

Learn More

• Six Women Who Helped Lead the Civil Rights Movement
• The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN
• Martin Luther King’s Philosophy of Nonviolence

Events to Celebrate

Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Free Admission at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art
Monday, January 20, 10 am – 5 pm
FREE for all, free advanced tickets are required

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service 2025 at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Monday, January 20, 11 am – 5 pm

King Day 2025 at California African American Museum
Monday, January 20, 10 am – 3:30 pm