RIT Signature Events Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | December 2025
Register Today for Two RIT Signature Events Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
You won’t want to miss these dynamic events coming up next month. Be sure to register now for Let Freedom Ring and Expressions of King’s Legacy!
Let Freedom Ring
This is the 9th year for Let Freedom Ring. It’s taking place Monday, January 19, 2026 in Ingle Auditorium. This event, designed specifically for RIT students, staff, and faculty honors the life and legacy of the great civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The keynote speaker is RIT Associate Professor Nickesia Gordon, from the School of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts. She earned her BA at the University of the West Indies (Jamaica); her MA from Clark University and her Ph.D. from Howard University. Her talk will focus on how love is a key component of Dr. King’s philosophy of freedom and non-violence. RIT student Cameron Bennett, president of the Caribbean Student Association will emcee the program and RIT Dance Collective will perform! The program is from 10:30 am until 11:30 am followed by a reception in Fireside Lounge. You can watch a film screening of the American Revolution (PBS Ken Burns) in Mosaic Center from 12:30 p.m until 2:00 p.m. or check out the first meeting of Book Club, with the selection, Silencing the Past beginning at 12:30 p.m. Learn More
Expressions of King’s Legacy
A New York Times bestselling author and professor at Princeton will deliver the keynote address at Expressions of King’s Legacy. Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr. will speak Thursday, January 29th in Gordon Field House. The program begins at noon and runs until 2:00 p.m.
Glaude is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and the former Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. He is a contributor on MS NOW (formerly MSNBC),a columnist for TIME Magazine and the author of several books including Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own as well as We Are The Leaders We Have Been Looking For. We’re excited to share that RIT student Naveedah Adegoke, president of the Black Awareness Coordinating Committee (BACC), will serve as emcee and there will be a performance by artist, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Johnson, of “The Ryan Johnson Project.” Learn More