Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. With Us
Join us for a weeklong series of events from Monday, Jan. 22 through Friday, Jan.
26
Please mark your calendar for Columbus State’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. As Columbus State continues the work of Dr. King to build a better, more inclusive, community, we are proud to champion his powerful messages and invite you to join us with a weeklong series of readings, volunteer opportunities, discussions, and more.
watch a recording of the keynote event
MLK Week Planned Events
The three Evils Filter: Examining the ethical landscape of 2024 through the lens of
Dr. King’s “Three Evils”
Monday, Jan. 22 | noon to 1:30 p.m. | WD 412
Dublin RLC: Room 331
Delaware Campus: Moeller Hall, 202
Remote: Zoom
In Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1967 speech, "The Three Evils", he diagnosed the
nation with a “triple pronged sickness” of racism, materialism, and militarism. Only
a “radical revolution” that uproots these values, Dr. King argued, will save our moral
conscience and ensure the survival of our civilization. From artificial intelligence
to political polarization, catphishing to race baiting, military intervention to economic
stratification, this guided discussion will use Dr. King’s explanation of “the three
evils” as a lens through which to unpack the realities of life in 2024.
register
Navigating Higher Education: A Student Panel
Tuesday, Jan. 23 | noon to 3 p.m. | WD 412
Dublin RLC: Dublin 331
Delaware campus: Moeller Hall 202
Join us for an interactive student panel tied to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy.
During this discussion, we will explore the historic and present challenges our students
face as they navigate the higher education system. Afterwards, participate in the
vision board activity, celebrating the journey of higher education. Connect, learn,
and contribute to a brighter educational future. Don't miss this unique opportunity!
register
KEYNOTE EVENT
Wednesday, Jan. 24 | 10 a.m. to noon | WD Ballroom
Hasan Kwame Jeffries
Join us for a keynote address by Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Alumni Associate Professor
at The Ohio State University.
Hasan Kwame Jeffries teaches, researches, and writes about the African American experience
from a historical perspective.
He has chronicled the civil rights movement in the ten-episode Audible Originals series
“Great Figures of the Civil Rights Movement,” and has told the remarkable story of
the original Black Panther Party in Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in
Alabama’s Black Belt, which has been praised as “the book historians of the black
freedom movement have been waiting for.”
Hasan has collaborated on several public history projects, including serving as the
lead scholar and primary scriptwriter for the $27 million renovation and redesign
of the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, the
site of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He currently serves as the
chairperson of the Board of Directors of The Montpelier Foundation, which stewards
the Virginia estate of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States and
the architect of the Constitution.
Hasan regularly shares his expertise on African American history and contemporary
Black politics through public lectures, op-eds, and interviews with print, radio,
and television news outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles
Times, NPR, CNN, and MSNBC.
He has also contributed to several documentary film projects as an historical advisor
and featured on-camera scholar, including the 2023 documentaries Fight the Power:
How Hip Hop Changed the World (PBS) and Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power
(NBC/Peacock). And his 2020 TEDx Talk “Why we must confront the painful parts of US
history” has been viewed more than 2 million times.
For his public history work, the King Arts Center (Columbus, Ohio) honored him with
a 2023 Legacy and Legends Award.
Hasan’s commitment to teaching what he calls “Hard History” led him to edit Understanding
and Teaching the Civil Rights Movement, a collection of essays by leading civil rights
scholars and teachers that explores how to teach civil rights history accurately and
effectively, and to host the podcast “Teaching Hard History,” a project of the Southern
Poverty Law Center’s Learning for Justice division. Hasan also helps school districts
develop anti-racism programming and culturally responsive curricular content centered
on social studies by conducting professional development workshops for teachers and
administrators.
A College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Associate Professor in the Department of History
at The Ohio State University, Hasan takes great pride in opening students’ minds to
new ways of understanding the past and the present. For his pedagogical creativity
and effectiveness, he has received numerous awards, including Ohio State’s highest
commendation for teaching – the Ohio State Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Hasan graduated from Morehouse College in 1994
with a BA in history and earned his PhD in American history with a specialization
in African American history from Duke University in 2002.
view the program for the keynote event
George Floyd Memorial Scholarship
As part of the keynote event, the 2023 winner of the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship
will be announced. This scholarship, created in memory of George Floyd, is a merit-based
award given to students who demonstrate leadership, social justice work, and activism
that furthers progress in their community.
Interested in supporting Columbus State’s George Floyd Memorial Scholarship? Any contribution
is welcome to help extend scholarship awards to deserving students. Just designate
your gift to the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship fund. Thanks for your consideration.
Give Now
Student and Employee Visionary Dreamer Awards
As part of the keynote event, the 2023 winners of the Visionary Dreamer Awards will
be announced. Winners make a significant and lasting contribution to continue creating an
environment where diversity is honored and respected on our campuses and within the
broader community. Read more here on nomination guidelines and the history of the two awards.
A conversation with Dr. Jeffries
Wednesday, Jan. 24 | 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. | WD 410
Dublin RLC: Dublin 331
Delaware Campus: Moeller Hall 202
Students are invited to join us to connect and engage in dialogue with keynote speaker
Dr. Hasan Jeffries, author of Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama’s
Black Belt and recipient of the 2023 Legacy and Legends Award by the King Arts Center
in Columbus, OH. Signed copies of Dr. Jeffries book will be available.
register (Students only)
diggin' in the crates
Thursday, Jan. 25 | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. | WD 412
We’re honoring 60 years of Columbus State and 50 years of hip hop with this interactive
gathering of history enthusiasts, storytellers, music lovers, and everyone else who
wants to celebrate and help us reconstruct the Black history of Columbus State!
- Roll up your sleeves! Help identify the who, what, when in a collection of unlabeled archival photographs.
- Give voice! Visit the Story Booth to record your story as part of a growing collection of Black
experiences at Columbus State.
- Represent! Bring photos, event programs, documents, degrees, t-shirts, and other artifacts relevant
to the Black history of Columbus State from your time as a student or employee. (You
may choose to donate items or have them photographed.) Got artifacts? We'd love to hear what you're planning to bring!
- Put your hands in the air! Listen to the beats that shaped a culture through the years.
The history we dig up at Diggin’ in the Crates will become part of an immersive Black
History of Columbus State exhibit and reception planned for later this year.
A special thank you to the Columbus State Library team for their leadership of this
event.
register
MLK DAY OF SERVICE
Friday, Jan. 26
To honor and celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy of the beloved community,
Columbus State Community College will offer the MLK Day of Service on Friday, Jan.
26, 2024. Volunteer opportunities will be available throughout the day at 20 different
sites in central Ohio including Columbus, Delaware County, and the surrounding area,
see the map of sites here. Site leaders and volunteers will engage in reflection and conversation about King's
legacy of service and action.
Registration for MLK Day of Service is NOW OPEN on Cougar Connect.
Sign up now
MLK Day of Service Frequently Asked Questions
Coretta Scott King said, “the greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if
people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds celebrated the holiday by performing individual
acts of kindness through service to others.”
“If America does not respond creatively to the challenge to banish racism, some future historian will have to say, that a great civilization died because it
lacked the soul and commitment
to make justice a reality for all men.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.