The second annual Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Summit at Hope College will explore the theme “History in the Making: Behind the Dream” through multiple sessions on Monday, Jan. 15, at the college’s Haworth Hotel.
Subtitled “Celebrating the history of advocacy and justice to empower future leaders and dreamers,” the summit is taking place in conjunction with National Martin Luther King Jr. Day, with activities including two blocks of breakout sessions that will precede the college’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Lecture. It is being sponsored the college’s Office of Campus Ministries and Center for Diversity and Inclusion in partnership with Holland-based I AM Academy, and is opening the college’s Civil Rights Celebration Week.
The public is invited. Admission is free, but advance registration is required through the event’s online listing at: hope.edu/calendar. The Civil Rights Lecture that will conclude the leadership summit will require no advance registration.
Check-in for the leadership summit breakout sessions will take place at the Haworth Hotel beginning at 9:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; sessions will start promptly at 9:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. A special Chapel service will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 10:52 a.m. The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Lecture will be at 2 p.m. at Dimnent Memorial Chapel, with a reception following from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the van Andel Huys der Hope.
The leadership summit has been expanded to be open to the public after debuting in 2023 as an event for the campus community. It has been organized, as it was last year, by Hope students with mentoring by the college’s Campus Ministries Office.
“Our student leaders have done really well to partner with the Hope faculty and staff as well as the Holland community to make this a great day not only for Hope College but the city of Holland,” said the Rev. Shomari Tate, chaplain of discipleship at Hope. “I’m really grateful to professors for accommodating student participation, and to the college’s Deans’ Council for spearheading integrating this event into our academic learning process as well.”
The sessions at 9:30 a.m. will be: “One Dream, Many Voices,” by the college’s Black Student Union; “Building the Beloved Community,” by the Latino Student Organization; and “The Need for Inmate Education,” by the Hope-Western Prison Education Program that is operated jointly by the college and Western Theological Seminary.
The sessions at 12:45 p.m. will feature “Community and Connection through the Lens of Dr. King,” by Anna Bonnema, assistant professor of mentoring instruction; “What Are You Doing for Others?” by Dr. Brooke Odle, assistant professor of engineering; and “History in the Making: Behind the Dream,” by Dr. Pablo Peschiera, associate professor of English.
The college’s Chapel service on Monday, Jan. 15, will feature a dramatic recitation of King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” The service will be at 10:30 a.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel. Guests are welcome, but space will be limited — the chapel is regularly at capacity during the weekday-morning services.
A new addition to this year’s summit is the Holland-based non-profit organization, I AM Academy. I AM Academy will hold its Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration lunch at the Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse. Doors for this portion of the day will open at 10:30 a.m. Programming for this event will begin at 11:30 a.m. and conclude at 12:30 p.m.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Lecture will be presented on Monday, Jan. 15, at 2 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel, and will explore “Reflections on MLK, Civil Rights, and DEI at Hope College.” The address will be presented by Hope Professor Emeritus John Yelding, a specialist in diversity in education who continues to be active at the college as a teacher and mentor. Sponsored by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI), the event will be the first of several throughout 2024 that will mark CDI’s work, growth and impact since its founding in 1984. Following the Jan. 15 address, there will be a reception from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the van Andel Huys der Hope to conclude the day.
For more information about the college’s Civil Rights Celebration Week activities, please follow this link.
To inquire about accessibility or if you need accommodations to fully participate in events at the college, please email accommodations@hope.edu. Updates related to events are posted when available at hope.edu/calendar in the individual listings.
The Haworth Hotel is located at 225 College Ave., between Ninth and 10th streets.