From music and poetry readings to lectures and community service events, colleges and universities nationwide are offering a plethora of ways for students and community members to commemorate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Making it “a day on … not a day off,” Villanova University, Boston University (BU) and the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) are just a few of the institutions hosting events to celebrate what would have been the legendary civil rights leader’s 89th birthday. Boston University, where King earned a doctorate in theology, has held commemorative services for 46 years dating back to 1972, nearly a decade before the government recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday.
“We believe it’s important to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy because he is an alumnus of Boston University and because of the significant work he did in the Civil Rights Movement,” said Katherine Cornetta, assistant to the dean of students at BU. This year’s commemorative services will begin on Sunday, Jan. 14th with a sermon from Reverend Dr. Walter Earl Fluker, the Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Ethical Leadership at BU School of Theology. 
On Monday morning, the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, guests from the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture and the City of Boston will join BU to celebrate King in the university’s George Sherman Union Metcalf Ballroom. A “Words Beyond the Dream” event at 2 p.m. will follow with music, poetry and reflections on the “depth, power and ever-increasing relevance” of King’s ideas beyond his “I Have A Dream” speech.
The inclusion of music and art in commemoration services at different institutions calls attention to the significance of music and ministry in King’s work, said Cornetta, who also is coordinator of “Words Beyond the Dream.” Poets Kamilah Aisha Moon and Danez Smith, the Inner Strength Gospel Choir, the School of Theology’s Seminary Singers and BU Academy Jazz Ensemble will perform. Katherine Kennedy, director of the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground at BU, will emcee the event.
Dr. King’s undergraduate alma mater, Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., will start the King Weekend with a community interfaith candlelight vigil at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel on campus at 6 p.m. Sunday. On Monday, the Bonner community service office will hold a “Day of Service” for students to volunteer at sites across the city beginning at 8 a.m. Speakers Dr. Lewis Baldwin, Marian Wright Edelman and Rev. Ernest Brooks will speak in Crown Forum and at other conversation series throughout the month, among other events.
“This year, we commemorate Dr. King 50 years after his death,” said Vicki Crawford, executive director of the King Collection at Morehouse. “Because Morehouse played such a prominent role in the early formation of Dr. King’s intellectual and ethical ideals, the national observance takes on even greater meaning for us at the College. As we reflect on his powerful legacy, it is quite apparent that the global leader remains as relevant today as during his lifetime. Now, more than ever, we honor Dr. King by strengthening our commitment to peace and justice in the world. At Morehouse, we embrace Dr. King’s vision and values as we remain dedicated to the College’s mission of educating young men of transformational leadership and service.
