Portland State's annual MLK Tribute has been host to a number of distinguished guest speakers, from local scholars to international celebrities. Each guest has shared invaluable insight and knowledge to the PSU community. You can read more about each speaker below.
Dr. Bernice A. King
February 12, 2014
Dr. Bernice King is the youngest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and the chief executive officer of The King Center, which was founded by her late mother, Corretta Scott King, in 1968. Bernice began her oratorical journey when she spoke in her mother's stead at the United Nations at age 17.
Dr. King is a minister, activist, lawyer and public speaker, focusing on social justice, nonviolence and personal motivation – particularly among young people. Dr. King spearheaded the Aug. 28 "Let Freedom Ring" event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and her father's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The event included President Obama and former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, as well as international leaders, dignitaries and entertainers.
A powerful speaker, Dr. King delivered her first sermon at Ebenezer Baptist, the church of her father and grandfather. She has spoken at the United Nations, the White House, and locations around the world. She is the founder of the nonprofit Be A King organization, whose mission is to help generations of people elevate the way they think, act, live and lead.
The King Center in Atlanta, which she leads, is the largest repository in the world of primary source materials on Martin Luther King, Jr., and the American civil rights movement.
Angela Davis
January 21, 2015
Through her activism and scholarship over the last decades, Angela Davis has been deeply involved in our nation’s quest for social justice. Her work as an educator – both at the university level and in the larger public sphere – has always emphasized the importance of building communities of struggle for economic, racial, and gender justice.
A persistent theme of her work has been the range of social problems associated with incarceration and the generalized criminalization of those communities that are most affected by poverty and racial discrimination. She draws upon her own experience in the early seventies as a person who spent 18 months in jail and on trial, after being placed on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted List.”
Professor Davis spent the last 15 years at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she is now Distinguished Professor Emerita of History of Consciousness, an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program, and of Feminist Studies. She has lectured throughout the United States and abroad, and is the author of nine books, most recently The Meaning of Freedom and Other Difficult Dialogues.
Black Lives Matter Founders
Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi
February 16, 2016
With a vision of justice for all, the Founders of Black Lives Matter, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, engage audiences in discussion about race relations in America and how their activism from the fringes became the national movement it is today, galvanizing individuals to stand up together against the state violence, police brutality and social injustice plaguing our country. The MLK Tribute is part of Black History Month and the “Living the Legacy” series of campus and community events honoring the memory of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Janet Mock
January 19, 2017
New York Times bestselling author of Redefining Realness and host of MSNBC's "So POPular!", discusses the book that activist and scholar Jennifer Finney Boylan says "will open hearts and minds and further the goals of equality and justice -- not just for trans people, but for everyone."
Walidah Imarisha
January 22, 2018
Walidah is the winner of a 2017 Oregon Book Award for Angels with Dirty Faces: Three Stories of Crime, Prison, and Redemption and co-editor of Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements. She has also taught classes in Portland State University’s Black Studies department and at Stanford University.
View the 2018 MLK Tribute video ›
Rukaiyah Adams
January 28, 2019
Adams grew up in the Walnut Park neighborhood of Northeast Portland. She attended Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and Harriet Tubman Middle School. After college, law school and some time practicing law in San Francisco, she returned to Portland to oversee the capital markets fund at The Standard.
Today Adams oversees investment activities at Meyer, the third largest community foundation in Oregon. Meyer recently went through a fundamental shift in its funding priorities driven by diversity, equity and inclusion priorities. Adams brings her skills in the finance world together with a deep commitment to all Portlanders, including communities of color.
Adams believes that our highest goal should be taking care of one another.
View the 2019 MLK Tribute video ›
Dr. Daymond Glenn
January 22, 2020
Dr. Daymond Glenn is a scholar, author, and the founder and senior pastor of The Cultural Soul Project church. At the Cultural Soul Project church, Dr. Glenn's ministry exists at the intersections of race, faith, hip-hop, and justice. Before founding The Cultural Soul Project, Dr. Glenn held senior level administrative and faculty positions at various colleges and universities, and some of those positions included: Vice President of Student Affairs, Chief Diversity Officer, Tenure Track Professor, and Faculty Administrator. As a professor, Dr. Glenn has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses focusing on urban education, deconstructing multicultural education, race and education on academic achievement, educational theory and philosophy, and critical hip-hop studies. Additionally, Dr. Glenn is an alum of Portland State University, and the author of the book Critical Condition: Black Males and Multiculturalism in Higher Education.
Lasana Hotep
January 15, 2021
This multimedia lecture presented by antiracist educator, Lasana Hotep, took participants on a journey behind the experiences that shaped Dr. King, his contribution to the current Antiracist movement, and the global impact of his work to create a more racially just world.
View the 2021 MLK Tribute video ›
Rev. Dr. Leroy Haynes, Jr.
January 18, 2022
Rev. Dr. LeRoy Haynes, Jr. has dedicated the majority of his life to the pursuit of racial justice and religious faith. In addition to earning a master’s degree in theology and a doctorate of ministry, Dr. Haynes has also served as a youth organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a field organizer for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, and a co-organizer of the Black Panther Party.