Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration events and opportunities organized and featured by the WashU School of Medicine Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
2024 MLK Week, WashU School of Medicine
Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. as a whole human being!
Recording: Keynote Panel: WUSM Leader Panel on MLK, Jr.’s Impact
This panel of WashU Medicine leaders, moderated by Will Ray Ross, MD, MPH, reflected on how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s legacy has impacted their practice as leaders in medicine or biomedical science. Panelists: Eva Aagaard, MD, Opeolu M Adeoye, MD, MS, Michael Avidan, MBBCh, FCA SA, Eric J. Lenze, MD
2023 MLK Week, WashU School of Medicine
Amplifying Voices through Courageous Storytelling
Events included an expert panel on critical race theory, featuring Angel Jones, PhD, Heather Fleming and Yetunde Janski-Ogunfidodo (Tunde), a presentation by Dr. Terry Harris from The Collective STL, and the annual State of Diversity by Sherree Wilson, PhD, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team.
2022 MLK Week, WashU School of Medicine
What are You Doing for Others? Cultivating Community, Empathy, and Change
The week featured a keynote address by Dr. Jonathan Metzl, author of Dying of Whiteness, followed by a conversation with Dean David H. Perlmutter. Additional events featured the school’s annual State of Diversity by Dr. Sherree Wilson, AVC and Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at WUSM, community discussions on WUSM Leadership’s Commitment to Anti-Racism, and other opportunities for learning and fostering well-being as we work for change.
- Recording: State of Diversity Address: Cultivating Change
Presentation by Sherree Wilson, PhD, Associate Vice Chancellor and Associate Dean, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, providing data to highlight progress in diversity for the medical campus. (January 2022)
2021 MLK Week, WashU School of Medicine
Getting in Good Trouble
In honor of Representative John Lewis of Georgia, who passed away in 2020, the theme was good trouble. Speakers and events included a keynote by social justice advocate and law professor Dr. Dorothy Roberts, a panel discussion with U.S. Representative Cori Bush, keynote by activist David Dwight IV, and an update on the school’s state of diversity by Dr. Sherree Wilson, Associate Vice Chancellor and Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Washington University School of Medicine.
2020 MLK Week, WashU School of Medicine
Honoring the Legacy and Ongoing Commitment to Nonviolence in St. Louis
The first full week of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. programming organized by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion focused on commitments to nonviolence in St. Louis. Keynote by WashU sociologist and vice dean of faculty development and diversity Adia Wingfield, PhD. Additional programming included a panel on ending cycles of violence, a screening and discussion of Dr. LJ Punch‘s TedX Talk on reducing injuries from gun violence, a panel and resource fair on ending gun violence, as well as service and engagement opportunities.
Events were held in person and recordings are not available.
Past MLK lectures
For years, the Washington University School of Medicine Office of Diversity Programs has hosted the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. The lecture recognized members of the St. Louis and university community who continue to advance Dr. King’s message through service and leadership. Past speakers include Charles Ogletree, Johnnetta Cole and William Julius Wilson.
Universitywide Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration
The annual Washington University commemoration of Dr. King and recognition of Rosa L. Parks Awards are held in Graham Chapel on the Monday observing MLK Day.