Featuring keynote speaker Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, a leading antiracist scholar, historian, author and founding director of the Howard Institute for Advanced Study. 

Join CU Boulder for a free event open to students, staff, faculty and local community members to commemorate one of the country’s most influential civil rights leaders: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year’s theme –“Imagining Tomorrow: Afro-Futurist Visions of Community, Creativity and Collective Care”– emerges from Dr. King’s expansive vision of justice and community interconnectedness. Embracing Afro-Futurist frameworks, critical theories, and ancestral rhythms, the convocation will explore creative expressions of justice, community wellness and intergenerational care. 

In a moderated discussion setting, the keynote will examine Dr. King’s lesser-explored writings on economic justice, global solidarity and radical imagination, and will connect these concepts to contemporary Afro-Futurist visions of equitable, sustainable communities. 

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is the Director of the Howard University Institute for Advanced Study. He is an acclaimed historian whose powerful insights are reshaping our understanding of racism and anti-racism. Through a compelling blend of scholarship and storytelling, Dr. Kendi invites readers and audiences to engage in a meaningful dialogue about the history of oppressive systems and how they have shaped societies for generations.

Dr. Kendi is the author of many highly acclaimed books including Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, making him the youngest ever winner of that award. Stamped from the Beginning is a monumental work that traces the development and dissemination of racist ideologies throughout American history. The book offers a comprehensive understanding of the complex interplay between racist ideas, power dynamics, and resistance movements. 

Dr. Kendi also authored the #1 New York Times bestsellers How to Be an Antiracist, Antiracist Baby, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored by Jason Reynolds.

For more on Kendi and related convocation events please see the convocation webpage. 

This event is sponsored by the Center for African and African American Studies, the Center for Cultural Connections and Community and the Office of Leadership Support and Programming.