Florida State University will host the 2023 celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Week Jan. 16-20. The celebration—this year crafted around the theme “It Starts with Us: Advocating for Access in Higher Education and Society”—has honored King’s life and work for more than three decades.
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated his life to improving the lives of others, and we celebrate his legacy each year with a week of activities designed to encourage future generations to not only learn more about Dr. King, but also about his ideals and goals,” said Sierra Turner, program director in the Center for Leadership & Social Change and one of the event’s organizers.
The week of events across campus aligns with King’s birthday on Jan. 15 and the federal holiday observed on the third Monday of the month. Following King’s Six Principles of Nonviolence, the celebration brings together speakers, performances, dialogues and other events to unite the FSU and Tallahassee communities.
The theme for this year’s MLK Week, which comes on the heels of the fall celebration of the 60th anniversary of the university’s integration, was chosen “because of Dr. King’s commitment to improving the educational access and opportunity of all,” Turner said.
The celebration will begin with a screening of “Civil: Ben Crump”, the Netflix documentary featuring the FSU alumnus and renowned civil rights attorney, at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, at the Askew Student Life Cinema.
On Monday, Jan. 16, the Center for Leadership & Social Change will lead a Day of Service in which Engage TLH will host service trips in the Tallahassee community.
The university’s primary celebration will feature performances, award presentations and the Golden Torch Lecture with Ben Crump, moderated by FSU Assistant Professor of Sociology Shantel Buggs. The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, in Ruby Diamond Concert Hall. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Visit tickets.fsu.edu to reserve tickets.
All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. For more information about the celebration and a full list of events, visit mlk.fsu.edu.