Speakers to challenge silence, erasure at WMU MLK Jr. Day events
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Western Michigan University’s 2026 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Monday, Jan. 19, will focus on the call to stand against injustice, featuring a speech from author, scholar and activist Dr. Cornel West. His address will reflect King’s enduring sentiment that “our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” The free event will take place at 6 p.m. at Miller Auditorium. It is sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion with WMU Athletics and the Seita Scholars Program.
West, who ran for president in 2024 as an independent candidate, is recognized for his pointed critiques on politics, race and justice. He has written several books, including “Race Matters” and “Democracy Matters,” and he currently holds the Dietrich Bonhoeffer chair at Union Theological Seminary. His academic career includes teaching positions at Harvard, Princeton and Yale. West also gave the 2023-24 Gifford Lectures at The University of Edinburgh, titled “A Jazz-soaked Philosophy for our Catastrophic Times: From Socrates to Coltrane.”
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words remind us that silence is never neutral; it either protects the status quo or helps create the change we say we want to see,” says Dr. Sherrie Fuller, chair of WMU’s MLK Jr. Day Celebration committee and director of education and training for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. “MLK Jr. Day is not only a moment of remembrance but also a call to responsibility. I invite all members of the WMU community to join us; listen deeply; and leave ready to engage, advocate and act on the issues that matter most in our society.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Cornel West, whose lifelong commitment to justice, truth-telling and moral courage challenges us to move beyond reflection and into action. His voice calls us to engage in difficult conversations, confront inequities with clarity, and build a community where dignity and opportunity are real for everyone.”
Earlier in the day, the Lewis Walker Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations will hold the annual MLK Teach-In, “Un-Erased: Remembering What They Want Us to Forget,” in Room 1910 of Sangren Hall. The Teach-In will also be available via livestream.
Dr. David Stovall, professor at the University of Illinois Chicago and one of the nation’s leading scholars on abolitionist education and transformative justice, will welcome attendees at 1 p.m. Interactive workshops about women of the movement and healing for the formerly incarcerated will follow, and the Teach-In portion of the day will end with a student panel featuring Stovall.
“At a time when efforts to limit, distort or erase history are becoming increasingly normalized, the MLK Teach-In serves as a necessary intervention. Education is never neutral; it reflects what and who we value,” says Walker Institute Director Dr. Bianca Nightengale-Lee. “This year’s Teach-In invites our campus and community to engage in truth-telling, to honor intergenerational memory and to recognize our shared responsibility to protect historical integrity. In the spirit of Dr. King’s legacy, this moment calls us not just to remember, but to act, to teach with courage, to lead with clarity, and to ensure that history is neither silenced nor forgotten.”
The Teach-In will also launch the Walker Institute’s new campuswide campaign, History Will Not Be Erased, inviting participants to commit to everyday actions that protect historical facts. Attendees can contribute their pledge to a collective installation that will remain on display at the Walker Institute in Room 3530 of Sangren Hall throughout Black History Month in February.
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