Expressions of King’s Legacy

January 29, 2025

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Keynote: Deborah Archer

Deborah Archer is the eighth President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), she leads America’s premier civil rights and civil liberties organization. But it’s not the first time this civil rights lawyer, scholar and teacher has fought for what’s right. In fact, she has been doing it since she was a child. 

The first person of color to lead the ACLU, Archer is a leading civil rights and civil liberties advocate, civil rights lawyer, professor, writer and commentator. Her talks explore the intersection of race, civil liberties and the law — challenging audiences to confront America’s legacy of racism and injustice. She also helps audiences understand how systemic racism impacts all aspects of American life, from our workplaces and campuses to transportation, education, housing, economic opportunity, criminal law and more.

In addition to serving as the eighth President of the ACLU, Archer is Professor of Clinical Law at the New York University School of Law, and Faculty Director of the Law School’s Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law. Previously, she was an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the ACLU, where she litigated in the areas of voting rights, employment discrimination and school desegregation. Archer was also a member of the faculty at New York Law School and an associate at the international law firm, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

Performance by Garth Fagan Dance

Garth Fagan Dance is an internationally recognized contemporary American dance company founded in Rochester in the 1970’s. For decades, the school invites young people regardless of race, gender, or financial resources to fulfill their potential, while the company provides performances and activities that enrich the community.

The company’s namesake came to America from Jamaica in 1960 and was inspired by the raw talent and perseverance of students from inner-city Rochester, leading to the formation of Garth Fagan Dance. Fagan is perhaps best known as the Tony-award winning choreographer of Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway. In May 2024, he received an honorary doctorate from RIT.

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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.