Expressions of King’s Legacy
For 44 years, Expressions of King’s Legacy programming has been dedicated to celebrating the life and impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The event is free and open to the public.
January 29, 2026
12:00 p.m.
Keynote: Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr.
Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr., scholar, political commentator and author of the New York Times bestseller Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own, will deliver the keynote address at RIT’s 44thannual Expressions of King’s Legacy program on Thursday, January 29, 2026, from 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. in the Gordon Field House. Glaude is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and the former Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. He frequently appears in the media, as a columnist for TIME Magazine and as an MSNBC contributor on cable news programs.
Ryan Johnson and Glen Cummings will bring elements of Funk, Soul, and R&B in a special performance.
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Past Speakers
2024
Keynote: Ibram X. Kendi
2023
Keynote: Nikole Hannah-Jones
2022
Keynote: Henry Louis Gates
2021
Keynote: Bakari Sellers
2020
Keynote: Joy-Ann Reid
Performances: Poet Javon Johnson and actress Mzuri Moyo Aimbaye
2019
Keynote: Tara Setmayer
Performances: Syncopated Ladies, soprano Kearstin Piper Brown and pianist Edward Rothmel
2018
Keynote: Marc Lamont Hill
Performances: Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow People
2017
Keynote: Fredricka Whitfield
Performances: Fisk Jubilee Singers
2016
Keynote: Andrew Young
Performances: Ailey II, Justin Kauflin, Borinquen Dance Theatre
2015
Keynote: Soledad O’Brien
Performances: Sister Outsider, Kelly Hall Tompkins, Craig Ketter
2014
Keynote: Tavis Smiley
Performances: Curtis Babers
2013
Keynote: Julianne Malveaux
Performances: THREE MO’ TENORS, The Meeting – a play by Jeff Stetson
2012
Keynote: Cornell West
Performances: Joshua Bennett, Garth Fagan Dance Company
2011
Keynote: Nikki Giovanni
Performances: Aeolian, David Johnson
History
The Black Awareness Coordinating Committee (BACC) was formed during the Spring 1969 quarter at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The purpose of the group was “to foster and sustain an awareness of Black people being an integral part of our nation’s society.”
In 1977, the organization touted itself as being the only organization “run exclusively for and by minority students.” At the time, the group’s membership consists mostly of Black and Puerto Rican undergraduates, though several graduate students belonged to the organization as well. Some of the programs sponsored by BACC included a Black student orientation, Black Awareness Week, and Educational Day, which introduced inner-city high school students to the world of higher education.
In 1982, the Commission for Promoting Pluralism partnered with BACC to deliver the annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. That April, the Commission held what was then called the Conference on Racism. Twenty years later, in 2002, the Commission renamed the conference to the Expressions of Diversity Conference. Then in 2010, the Annual Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King was combined into a week-long celebration—Expressions of King’s Legacy. In 2012, the program was moved under the Office for Diversity & Inclusion, continuing with the name of Expressions of King’s Legacy. Many campus members played an important role in the start of this celebration and the continuing of it as the longest standing diversity program at RIT.