The theme of the 2021 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration is “Striving to Build the Beloved Community: From Dr. King to Black Lives Matter.”
Fairfield University’s annual commemoration of the life of Martin Luther King Jr. will feature a series of campus-wide events designed to inspire all to continue on with the important work reflected in the words, writings, and actions of Dr. King.
The 2021 MLK Jr. Convocation, an integral part of the celebration, will be held virtually on Monday, February 22 at 7 p.m. Award-winning political theorist and New York University Associate Professor Cristina Beltrán, PhD will be the keynote speaker. The event is free and open to the public.
Dr. Beltrán is an associate professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Social & Cultural Analysis at New York University. A political theorist by training, her research and interests focus on modern and contemporary political theory, democratic theory, Latino Studies/Latino politics in the U.S., feminist theory, American political thought, race and ethnicity, and gender and sexuality. She is author of The Trouble with Unity: Latino Politics and the Creation of Identity (Oxford University Press, 2010), which received numerous awards, including the American Political Science Association’s Ralph Bunche Award and the Casa de la Américas prize for the best book on Latinos in the United States. Her new book, Cruelty as Citizenship: How Migrant Suffering Sustains White Democracy has just been published in the Forerunner Series of the University of Minnesota Press.
The Vision Award recipients — individuals who demonstrate a commitment to the ideals and values of Dr. King — will be honored, as will the winners of the annual essay contest for middle school students. This year’s Vision Awards are being presented to Janie Leatherman, PhD, professor politics and international studies; Andrea Canuel, associate director for Community-Engaged Learning at the Center for Social Impact, and Nya Jones '23.
In addition to the Convocation, virtual events to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy include a 21-Day Ignatian Racial Equity Challenge, a faculty and staff seminar, virtual discussions, and a Youth Leadership Summit.
For more information about this year’s MLK Jr. celebration, please visit fairfield.edu/mlk.
