MSU hosts MLK Celebration Event with a Keynote Speech and Panel

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr., MSU hosted a two-part event on Thursday, Jan. 20, consisting of a keynote speech followed by a panel discussion from local Black business owners. The event took place three days after Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday observed annually on the third Monday in January to memorialize the life and social equality work of King. This event was held in the SUB Ballroom with the option of attending via Webex.

 The keynote speech was delivered by Jelani Mahiri, Ph.D. Mahiri is a visiting instructor in MSU’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology and is the founding instructor for the new Introduction to Africana Studies course. His speech focused on the legacy of Dr. King.

 “Dr. King himself, and this day, is used as a kind of iconic representation of the progress that we made in the U.S. around issues regarding racial inequality, racial injustice, etc.,” Mahiri said in the beginning of his speech. “And part of my goal here is to try to expand that iconic image a little further. So, it's not just a holiday, right? This is a challenge for all of us, right? How do we really live his legacy in our everyday lives?”

 Throughout his speech, Mahiri highlighted significant aspects in King’s life spanning from his youth to the civil rights movement. Mahiri mentioned the 382-day Montgomery Bus Boycott, King’s arrest, the bombing of his home, the March on Washington, his “Beyound Vitneam–A Time to Break Silence” speech and King’s assissination. To accompany the brief overview, Mahiri asked the audience three questions: “How might we really understand Dr. King’s legacy? What can we learn from his life? How might we use that legacy to consider our contemporary world?”

 The panelist discussion following Mahiri’s speech provided an outlet for the audience to continue to ponder these questions. The panel included five Black female leaders in the Bozeman area including Meshayla Cox, a racial equity and inclusion consultant at The Montana Racial Equity Project; Destini French, an MSU alum and owner and operator of Cultured Roots MT; Mikayla Pitts, a tobacco prevention specialist at Gallatin City-Council Health Department; and Deaydrah Williams, an administrative assistant at Big Sky Oral, dance instructor and model. The panelists discussed questions ranging from racial equality and mental health to advice they would give their younger selves.

One attendee asked, “In the positions that you hold, how do you advocate for yourself and what does that look like?”

 “Education is everything, so that a lot of the time is where I’m advocating, and as well as for people in my industry to stop making excuses that there aren’t enough Black people here to serve,” French responded.

This event was hosted by MSU’s TRIO Student Services program, the Diversity and Inclusion Student Commons and Bobcat Athletics.