UHart will hold a program to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at its West Hartford campus on Feb. 1.

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The University of Hartford will honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy in a ceremony with members of UHart and area schools, highlighting the importance of all generations continuing King’s work together.

The program, “Let’s Go: Building Community Through Social Change,” is set for Feb. 1, at 12:45 p.m. on UHart’s campus at Lincoln Theater. It will also be broadcast virtually via Zoom. Members of the public are invited to attend in person or online, and can register online at hartford.edu/MLKregistration for free.

The featured keynote speaker is Rosa Alicia Clemente, an award-winning activist, cultural commentator, and independent journalist, as well as a leading scholar on the issues of Afro-Latinx identity, who has dedicated her life to organizing scholarship and activism. The program will also include UHart’s Gospel Choir, the Hartt School Saxophone Ensemble, poetry, students from the University of Hartford Magnet School, and the 2023 MLK Beloved Community Awards.

Guests will be encouraged to remember not only King’s inspiring words, but also his courage and sacrifice in the service of justice. King’s genuine love for humankind inspires people today to denounce and oppose inequality, poverty, hate, prejudice, and violence wherever we encounter them in our society and in the world, says Christine Grant, assistant vice president for diversity, equity, and community engagement.

“In this work, there’s no handing off a baton to the next generation. We can’t say to young people: It’s up to you now. It’s about people of all ages stewarding King’s mission together,” Grant added. “We want, as Dr. King did, engagement for students and adults. Our goal is to inspire students to remain engaged in activism and social change.”

Because UHart students begin classes for the new semester after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, UHart holds its annual MLK celebration in February. The program also marks the beginning of Black History Month.

The MLK observance program is presented in collaboration with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement, and the Alumni Board of Directors’ Alumni of Color Task Force.

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