The MIT community gathers every February at a celebration of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Speakers have included leaders who are prominent both nationally and in the local Boston/Cambridge community, in accordance with Dr. King’s dual emphasis on global and local issues.
The 2021 Celebration will take place virtually on Wednesday, February 10, from 11am-1pm. This page will be updated with further details and event registration. If you would like to receive a notification when registration opens, please subscribe to the ICEO mailing list.
| 2020 | Kevin Richardson, one of the Central Park Five: Speak Up, Have Courage, Confront Injustice | video, article |
| 2019 | Rahsaan Hall of the ACLU’s Massachusetts branch: America’s bank of justice is overdrawn but not bankrupt | video, article |
| 2018 | Wade Davis: Sustaining the struggle for equity: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere | video, article. |
| 2017 | Aprille Joy Ericsson: Discrimination affects us all | video, article |
| 2016 | Freeman A. Hrabowski, III: Truth & Power, Students Leading for Change | video, article |
| 2015 | Hosted by President Rafael Reif (keynote speaker Rinku Sen was unable to attend): iActivism Individuals Empowering the Collective | article, poster |
| 2014 | Michael Eric Dyson: Should human rights be determined at the ballot box? |
Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 2013 | Paula Williams Madison: Illuminating the Elements of Meritocracy. | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 2012 | Richard Tapia: Expanding the Possible | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 2011 | Roland Martin: Excellence is a Shared Path: Working Together for Justice and the Quality of Life | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 2010 | Gerry Hudson: Deploying Our Gifts for the Betterment of Humankind: What would Dr. King say about us? | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 2009 | Johnetta Cole: Yes We Must: Achieve Diversity Through Leadership | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 2008 | Johnnetta Cole: Ensuring Educational Access: Our Challenge, Our Opportunity Ray Hammond | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 2007 | Ted Childs, Jr.: Maximizing Potential: The Congruence of Diversity and Excellence | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 2006 | Donna Brazile: Dr. King's Unfinished Agenda: A Call for Economic & Social Justice in the 21st Century | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 2005 | Gwen Ifill: Justice and Equality for All: America's Moral Dilemma | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 2004 | Julianne Malveaux : Rhetoric or Reality: Civil Right Under Seige | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 2003 | Julian Bond: Faces at the Bottom of the Well: Nightmare of Reality vs. Dr. King's Dream | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 2002 | Tavis Smiley: From Dreams to Reality: The Illusion of Full Inclusion | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 2001 | Lani Guinier: Confronting the Gap: Building and Sustaining Inclusion | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 2000 | Shirley Ann Jackson: Engineering Bold Leadership for the 21st Century: A Blueprint for Full Participation in Academia, Government and Industry | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 1999 | Kweisi Mfume: Teaching and Learning: The Key to Full Inclusion | Videos, transcripts, etc. |
| 1996 | Dr. Julius L. Chambers: With Liberty and Justice for All | Videos, transcripts, etc. |