Stylized image of Dr. King with text: MLK Week 2023, Our Collective Liberation

For the 18th 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. 13–18) schedule of special events.

As a global community, our journey toward liberation continues to be an intergenerational effort requiring lessons learned from our ancestors and engagement across current generations as we prepare the world for the future. But what is collective liberation in practice? How can its actualization change society as we know it? And what kinds of futures might we reimagine for ourselves, our communities, and our succeeding generations as we move closer to this ideal? In the words of Dr. King, “...we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.” This collective responsibility to liberate ourselves—globally, cross-generationally, and beyond—drives this year’s MLK Week programming.

The highlight of the week is the University-Wide Event on Thursday, February 16, which will feature a conversation between playwright and composer-lyricist Michael R. Jackson (Tisch ’03, ’05); clinical assistant professor at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study Dr. Shatima Jones; author, activist, and speaker Maggie Anderson, JD, MBA; and moderated by senior associate vice president of global faculty engagement and innovation advancement Dr. Karen Jackson-Weaver. The event will also include the presentation of this year’s Humanitarian Award to Professor Michael Dinwiddie (Gallatin ’80, Tisch ’83) and performances by musician, author, and director AMYRA (Tisch ’14).

This event is free and open to the public.