Stylized image of Dr. King with text: NYU MLK Week 2024, Power Reimagined

19th Annual MLK Week

February 5–9, 2024

For the 19th consecutive year, NYU will commemorate Dr. King’s visit to the University Heights campus in 1961 and honor his legacy by hosting a week-long (Feb. 5–9) schedule of special events.

Deeply rooted within the legacy and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is an emphasis on love. In Dr. King’s words,

“Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.” —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967)

 

True power is, therefore, not about domination or control but a tool for implementing justice guided by love—a love for humanity and fairness. True justice is impossible to realize if it is not motivated by care, empathy, and love for all individuals. Injustices cannot be corrected through means that contradict the essence of love. In our collective pursuit of justice, then, Dr. King believes we ought to exercise our individual and societal powers in a manner that resolves conflict through common ground—not force; achieves decision through effective persuasion—not coercion; and implements policies that expand our civil liberties rather than restricts them. This pursuit of justice powered by love as an active force that drives actions toward equity, compassion, and inclusion is the focus of this year’s MLK Week programming.

The NYU MLK Week Planning Committee, in collaboration with the Office of Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Strategic Innovation, invites the NYU community to reimagine power and its application in the present and future. During the week’s events, we will explore the intertwined concepts of power, justice, and love and how power may be distributed and diffused to allow for healing, restoration, and justice for all.


Check out how MLK's legacy has impacted the NYU Community!

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