2014 Event Details
Date: Monday, Jan. 20, 2014
Exhibition and seating begin at 1 p.m.
Location: Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall, Princeton University. (Alexander Hall is located behind Nassau Presbyterian Church, opposite Palmer Square on Nassau Street.)
2013 Event
Princeton commemorated the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with its annual King Day celebration on Monday, Jan. 21, in Richardson Auditorium of Alexander Hall. The event, which was free and open to the public, began with musical selections at 1 p.m.
Anne Cheng, a Princeton University Professor of English and African American Studies, delivered the keynote address.
The event included the presentation of awards to 16 visual arts, literary arts, and video contest winners in grades 4 through 12 from area schools. Marking the 50th anniversary of the famous "I Have a Dream" speech, which King gave in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963, this year's contests focused on the question: How can we overcome assumptions about identity and foster inclusion? Students were asked to identify a personal characteristic or trait that might cause some to make assumptions and others to feel isolated, and propose ways in which individuals can take action to overcome differences and foster inclusion.
During the program the University presented the MLK Day Journey Award for Special Achievement to Karen Jackson-Weaver, Associate Dean for Academics and Diversity in the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School. The Journey Award recognizes a member of the Princeton faculty, staff or student body who best represents King's continued journey. The event also included performances by the Arts High School Gospel Choir from Newark, NJ.
Cheng, the keynote speaker, specializes in race studies and psychoanalytic theory and works in 20th-century American literature, with special focus on Asian American and African American literature. A 1985 Princeton graduate who earned her master's in English and creative writing from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of California-Berkeley, Cheng is a noted author of several books and the founder and organizer of Critical Encounters, a public conversation series designed to encourage dialogue across diverse disciplines on shared topics of social justice.
The webcast of the King Day event will be archived. It is convened and coordinated by the Office of the Provost and the Office of Human Resources.
