Let Freedom Ring
RIT offers experiences that change lives, change perceptions and change the world.
Our Let Freedom Ring program, held each January, is a campus-wide event that honors the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It brings exciting speakers to campus who challenge us to think deeper, to broaden our horizons and to express our individuality.
History
Let Freedom Ring is the brainchild of RIT President David Munson.
In 2018, he came up with the idea as a way for students, faculty and staff to celebrate the federal holiday named in Dr. King’s honor. Let Freedom Ring programming compliments RIT’s Expressions of King’s Legacy, which has been an annual tradition for close to four decades.
Dr. Munson said at that time, “RIT has long recognized the importance of diversity to organizational growth and synergy. “Beginning in the 19th century, when we welcomed women into our classes, decades before other colleges even considered co-education, we have intentionally sought students, faculty and staff from multiple backgrounds, ethnicities and countries. In 1968, the addition of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf brought an intellectual, linguistic and programmatic diversity to RIT that is unmatched in higher education. We are likewise proud of the growing number of underrepresented and international students enrolled at RIT. The unmatched diversity of our academic programs is a direct result of the diverse voices, in Martin Luther King Jr.’s stead, that constantly participate in the RIT conversation.”
2026 Let Freedom Ring
9th annual Let Freedom Ring Commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Join your friends and colleagues for the 9th annual Let Freedom Ring program on Monday, January 19, 2026. The program is from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Ingle Auditorium. A reception will follow in Fireside Lounge. Following the reception, 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.
Our keynote speaker will be Associate Professor Nickesia Gordon in the School of Communication, College of Liberal Arts at RIT. Gordon’s research focuses on communication and gender, race and nationality as well as communication for social change. 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.
Past Speakers
Irshad Altheimer is the Ellen M. Granberg Endowed Professor. He also serves as professor of criminal justice and the Director of the Center for Public Safety Initiatives (CPSI). He received his B.A. from Alabama State University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from Washington State University. As Director of CPSI, Dr. Altheimer has partnered with a diverse set of stakeholders supporting the implementation and evaluation of projects seeking to reduce violence and improve the administration of justice. His research has included partnerships with the Rochester Police Department, Monroe County Probation, the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, Rochester General Hospital, Anthony L. Jordan Health Center, and Rise Up Rochester. Over the course of his career, Dr. Altheimer has secured more than $10 million in external funding from federal, state, and private sources.
Dr. Katrina Overby is an Assistant professor in the School of Communication at RIT. As a virtual and digital ethnographer whose research, rooted in Black feminist thought and critique, Dr. KO investigates and explores broadly communication, race and identity. Specifically, she analyses Black social media usage, primarily Black Twitter, online discourse by and about Black women, Black women’s epistemology and praxis in, through and out of the academy, and race and gender in sports communication. She has recently instructed the courses Communication and Identity, Reporting on Racial Justice, and her favorite Public Speaking.
Thomas Warfield is senior lecturer in the Performing Arts Program and the director of dance at National Technical Institute for the Deaf. He is a singer, dancer, educator, activist and a past president of the William Warfield Scholarship Fund. As the nephew of world- renowned classical singer and actor William Warfield, he played an instrumental role, along with RIT, in the recent unveiling of a bronze bust in his uncle’s honor.
Joshua is an American visual artist whose primary medium is photography. McFadden explores the use of archival material within his work and is known for his portraiture. He also conceptually investigates themes related to identity, masculinity, history, race, and sexuality.
William Davis, a longtime Rochester area business owner who reflected on his years living in the segregated south. As a college student, he attended Dr. King’s funeral in 1968 while pledging Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.-the same fraternity to which Dr. King belonged.
Greg Pollock, an RIT alumnus and vice president at PNC Financial Services. Pollock is recognized by many in the industry as a staunch advocate for people with disabilities and addressing the needs to make workplaces accessible. As a student at RIT, Pollock at RIT, served as President of RIT’s Student Government (2010-2012), the only Deaf RIT Student Government President to serve two terms.
Nicole Doyley, director of Prayer and Care Ministries in Rochester and the author of three books including When Life is Winter: Navigating the Seasons of Life.