Stories about "Martin Luther King Jr. Day"
Picture Story: MLK Day at Bates, and the arc toward justice

Friday, January 24, 2025 3:45 pm

Immersive Bates photography captures the energy and commitment of the Bates community during this year's MLK Day observance.

MLK Day keynote: Why nonviolent protest has become less successful (when it might be needed most)

Friday, January 24, 2025 1:40 pm

The vibe at this year’s MLK Day keynote was the “fierce urgency of now,” as keynote speaker Erica Chenoweth and Bates President Garry W. Jenkins each reflected on the challenges and imperatives of modern nonviolent movements in uncertain times.

7–8pm | MLK Day Spoken Word Festival Presentation: The Multifaith Chaplaincy celebrates the voices that propelled the work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with performances from poets, spoken word artists, and musicians. The second annual MLK Day Spoken Word festival brings together powerful poetry and soulful song around the theme “Bending Toward Justice: Peace and Nonviolence.” Featured artists for the evening are acclaimed poet and co-executive director of Maine Inside Out, Joseph Jackson, and beloved singer Kenya Hall whom Rolling Stone dubbed a “soul powerhouse.” Students Misaki Fukushima ’25, Ahmednoor Hassan ’27, Bora Lugunda ’25, and Oleksii Sverbyvus ’28 will also perform pieces at the festival. Location: Gomes Chapel Program Welcome: Raymond Clothier Spoken Word: Joseph Jackson Music Kenya Hall Poetry: Oleksii Sverbyvus ’28 Poetry/Dance Misaki Fukushima ’25 Spoken Word: Ahmednoor Hassan ’27 Poetry: Bora Laguna ’25 Spoken Word: Joseph Jackson Music: Kenya Hall
Slideshow: Hour by hour on MLK Day 2025 with Bates faculty, staff, students, and friends

Friday, January 24, 2025 11:20 am

This year’s MLK Day celebration, themed “Bending Toward Justice: Peace and Nonviolence,”…

Picture Story: Bates MLK Day is rich with song, poetry, discussion, and, most of all, food

Friday, January 19, 2024 2:54 pm

Enjoy this immersive photo and video presentation of the 2024 Bates MLK Day celebration, full of presentations, discussions, and workshops, all on the topic of food justice in America.

Monday, Jan. 15 9–10:30am | The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Keynote Keynote speaker and presenter Bryant Terry is an award-winning chef, food justice activist, and critically acclaimed author. Welcoming Remarks Tyler Harper, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies President’s Welcome Garry W. Jenkins, President of Bates College Introduction of Keynote Speaker Phoebe Stern ‘24 (shown in several photos with her mother) Keynote Address Bryant Terry Closing James Reese, Associate Dean for International Student Programs Location: Gomes Chapel
13 cooking tips from James Beard Award–winning chef and author Bryant Terry

Friday, January 19, 2024 12:33 pm

During this year's MLK Day keynote, Terry prepared a dish of tofu curry with mustard greens, along the way offering a baker's dozen of cooking tips and insights.

Video: Making bread and breaking bread

Friday, January 19, 2024 11:13 am

To the sounds of a few Grateful Dead songs, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Tyler Harper led a MLK Day bread-making workshop that ofers “a return to older and more ancestral food traditions."

Bates MLK Day keynote: Food justice is ‘one of the most important movements of the 21st century’ 

Friday, January 19, 2024 8:37 am

MLK Day keynote Bryant Terry, an artist, author, chef, and activist, says Martin Luther King Jr's fight against food apartheid is still relevant today.

‘Food Justice’ is on the menu for 2024 MLK Day at Bates

Wednesday, January 10, 2024 4:43 pm

This year’s keynote promises stirring words — and more. Noted author, food justice activist, and James Beard Award-winning chef Bryant Terry plans to stir up a vegan dish featured in one of his acclaimed cookbooks.

Picture story: ‘You are the bringer of light and change’

Friday, January 20, 2023 4:18 pm

Immerse yourself in the creative hope and beauty of Martin Luther King Jr. Day through Bates photography and video.

Is it OK to target iconic works of art in the name of social justice? That’s what students from Bates and @morehouse1867 debated at the annual Rev. Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays, Class of 1920, Debate as part of the college’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day programming. Seen above, Chijindum Dike (left) shares a post-debate celebration with John Curry. Both are students from Morehouse College, and traveled to Bates for the debate. The Bates community and friends crowded into the Olin Arts Center for a much-anticipated part of Bates’ Martin Luther King Jr. Day programming: the debate between four students; two from Morehouse, and two from Bates. The tradition honors Mays, who served as the president of Morehouse College for 27 years. King, then a student at Morehouse, referred to Mays as his “spiritual mentor.” Throughout the debate, the students responded to this year’s motion, “This house believes that the targeting of iconic works of art to advance social justice is justified,” and responded to each other and opinions from the audience. Manuel Machorro ’25 of Mexico City, a politics and philosophy double major, opened the debate on the government side with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. “Dr. King said ‘if you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but by all means, keep moving.’ The claim that we’re gonna make from the government, is that when you’re not listened [to] by anyone, and when the government monopolizes power to destroy you, any way that you see fit is to some capacity justified in pursuing social justice.” Machorro was joined by Dike, a sophomore and double major in psychology and Chinese. The opposition was presented by Curry, a senior and triple major in philosophy, religion, and Chinese, and Andrew Montieth ’24 of Monroe, Wash., a philosophy major. The debaters referenced recent demonstrations, arguing that social justice is furthered by reclaiming spaces and public attention, and the opposition argued that some social activist action diverts attention away from the problem, and onto the targeted object.
Video: ‘Whatever wilderness you wander, you are all creatives’

Friday, January 20, 2023 1:43 pm

Watch some of the highlights of Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Bates: a day full of sharing, from poetry, music, and dance, to ideas about activism, education, and living in community.

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