“The time is always right, to do what is right” — Martin Luther King Jr.
The 34th Annual Washington University Danforth Campus Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration
Monday, January 18, 2021
7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Zoom (Virtual)
The commemoration will be virtual this year due to COVID-19 distancing restrictions. Registration is not required. The program is free and open to everyone.
Dr. Peniel E. Joseph author of “The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.,” will be interviewed by
Dr. Lerone A. Martin.
“To most Americans, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. represent contrasting ideals: self-defense vs. nonviolence, black power vs. civil rights, the sword vs. the shield. The struggle for black freedom is wrought with the same contrasts. While nonviolent direct action is remembered as an unassailable part of American democracy, the movement’s militancy is either vilified or erased outright. In The Sword and the Shield, Peniel E. Joseph upends these misconceptions and reveals a nuanced portrait of two men who, despite markedly different backgrounds, inspired and pushed each other throughout their adult lives…” [from the book cover]
Dr. Peniel E. Joseph is the Barbara Jordan Chair in Political Values and Ethics at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and professor of history and the Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Lerone A. Martin is Director of the Washington University American Culture Studies Program and Associate Professor of Religion and Politics, American Culture Studies, and African and African-American Studies.
The commemoration is organized by the 2020-21 Washington University Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Committee:
Brenda Archie (Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering)
Jacqueline Carter (Olin Business School)
Rudolph Clay Jr. (University Libraries)
Phyllis Jackson (Campus Life)
Hope Young (Campus Life)