MLK Awards

Any current Valpo student, faculty, staff, administrator, or Student Senate-recognized campus organization is eligible for nomination. So keep the MLK Award in mind throughout the academic year as you go about campus living and learning, and nominate those who you feel deserve to win this award based on their demonstrated contributions and commitment.

• 2024: Samantha Burgett ’20, MSW, LSW
• 2023: Michael Chikeleze, Ph.D.
• 2022: Richard Sévère, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English
• 2021: Honoring Lou Jeanne Walton ’60
• 2020: Amanda Zelechoski, J.D, Ph.D.
• 2019: Christina Hearne ‘15 (Crawley)
• 2018: Geoffrey Heeren, LL.M., J.D., and Tatiana Hurtado ’04, ’10 MBA
• 2017: Dr. Heath Carter, Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Valparaiso Human Relations Council; and Faisal Kutty, Associate Professor of Law and Director, International LL.M. Program
• 2016: Charles Schaefer
• 2015: Valpo Men’s Soccer Team, Larry Baas, and Zahra Nwabara
• 2014: Stacy Hoult-Saros ‘15 GC
• 2013: Allison Schuette ’93, Professor Liz Wuerffel ’00, and Mr. Holly Singh, ’98, ’05 MALS
• 2012: Ivan Bodensteiner, NaTasha Henry ’04, ’06 MALS, and the Black Law Students Association
• 2011: Zhimin Lin
• 2010: Alan Bloom and the Peace and Social Justice Symposium: Jane Bello Brunson and Delphina (Del) Hopkins Gillispie, co-founders Hopkins-Gillispie, co-founders
• 2009: Roy Austensen and Renu Juneja
• 2008: Ryan Freeman-Jones ’08, ‘10 M.S. and Gregory Jones
• 2007: Rev. Dr. Alan F. Harre
• 2006: Dr. James Kingsland ’82 J.D.
• 2005 Asian American Association, Black Student Organization, and Latinos in Valparaiso for Excellence
• 2004: Jane Bello-Brunson
• 2003: Bill Marion Jr.
• 2002: Rev. David Kehret
• 2001: Hugh McGuigan
• 2000 Judith Erwin-Neville and Valpo Gospel Choir
• 1999 Jane Claiborne ’01, ’04 MALS
• No Award was given in 1998
• 1997 Valpo Faculty Jazz Trio
• 1996 Walter Reiner and Karl Lutze ’80H
• 1995: Lou Jeanne Walton ’60

The Valparaiso University Martin Luther King Jr. Community Drum Major Instinct Award is bestowed upon an individual who selflessly engages in daily acts of service, contributing to the improvement of their community, Northwest Indiana, our state, our country, and our world. This award is a tribute to someone who demonstrates exceptional dedication and commitment by generously offering their time, talents, treasure, and service in the pursuit of justice, equity, equality, and humanity. Moreover, their work serves as an exemplary embodiment of Martin Luther King Jr.’s values, beliefs, life, and legacy.

From serving as a sideline team physician to cultivating the next generation of healthcare professionals and fighting to preserve lives in and out of a level one trauma center, it isn’t important to Dr. Pratt what activities he engages in but where and to whom he dedicates his time. He is the chief executive director and founder of the Emergency Preparedness (MedCEEP) Initiative and the Trauma Recovery And Prevention of Violence Program (TRAP Violence). Dr. Pratt’s journey from being an intern to becoming a respected leader in emergency medicine showcases the power of perseverance and advocacy.

Morgan Medlock, M.D., M.Div., MPH, is a convener, educator, and clinician who is passionate about designing equitable, community-centered behavioral health interventions.

Since completing adult psychiatry and health policy training at Harvard Medical School in 2018, Morgan has served in academia, local and state government, and on a national stage, advocating for a more just system of care for marginalized populations. She is the lead editor of the volume “Racism and Psychiatry: Contemporary Issues and Interventions,” which has become a resource for anti-racism work at institutions across the country. She is also adjunct faculty at Howard University College of Medicine where she researches strategies for centering the history and experiences of communities of color in substance use disorder interventions. With additional training in divinity, Morgan has contributed to the development of a church-supported counseling center in Washington, D.C., and intensive, trauma-informed approaches for supporting adolescents in Dallas. She is an alumna of the Milbank Fund Executive Fellows Program and Commonwealth Fund Minority Health Policy Program.

Morgan received her M.D. from the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, her MPH from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and her M.Div. from Andrews University.

For more than 30 years, Valpo has engaged students, faculty, staff, retirees, and the broader Northwest Indiana community in purposeful dialogue about the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and how to further this legacy today and beyond.

We are happy to announce the 2023 MLK Day celebration, titled “Celebrating the Value of Humanity,” will feature a keynote address from State Senator Eddie Melton. Indiana Senator Melton was born and raised in Gary, Indiana as the son of a railroad worker and proud Steelworks Local 188 Union member.

In 2015, he worked with President Barack Obama’s administration in implementing “My Brother’s Keeper,” an initiative designed to address persistent opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color. He is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. and received a B.S. of Organizational Management from Calumet College of St. Joseph. Recently in 2022, Senator Melton authored a senate resolution urging the legislative council to assign the topic of providing an enhanced study on Black history in each high school United States history course to the appropriate study committee.

Just like Martin Luther King Jr., Eddie is spending his life working to give a voice to the voiceless.

Hard-hitting, inspiring, intelligent, honest, and direct—these are some of the words used to describe the style and approach of Emmy Award– winning broadcaster Ed Gordon. Known for his stellar interactions with newsmakers from the worlds of politics, entertainment, and sports, Gordon is the president of Ed Gordon Media, a multi-service production company. In 2020, Gordon authored his first book, Conversation in Black where he interviewed over 40 leaders and influencers for a “virtual” conversation about the state of Black America. Gordon also hosted and executive produced Ed Gordon, an hour- long quarterly newsmagazine on Bounce TV.

This program has featured many inspirational and moving interviews, such as an emotional interview with the Mothers of the Movement, a group of women whose children had been killed by senseless violence, and a look at the controversy surrounding the movie The Birth of a Nation (2016) and its star and director, Nate Parker. Other highlights include a profile of powerhouse Congresswoman Maxine Waters and exclusive interviews with comedian Steve Harvey, R and B singer Maxwell, and the cast of the mega-successful movie Girls Trip.

Additionally, Gordon hosted and executive-produced the nationally syndicated one-on-one program Conversations with Ed Gordon. The signature program allows Gordon to bring newsmakers and celebrities up close and personal with viewers. Over the years, guests have included Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington, Kevin Hart, and Beyoncé, among many others. Previously, he has also been a contributing correspondent for the CBS news show 60 Minutes II, a contributor for NBC’s Today Show and Dateline, the host of NPR’s News and Notes with Ed Gordon, and the MSNBC anchor and host of the nationally syndicated television programs Our World and Weekly with Ed Gordon. He further distinguished himself during two stints at BET.

He’s had many roles at the network, including host of BET Tonight, anchor of BET News, and creator of his signature one-on-one series Conversation with Ed Gordon. Gordon also anchored BET’s coverage of the 2012 presidential election, Obama’s second inauguration, Nelson Mandela’s funeral from South Africa, and the fiftieth anniversary of the historic March on Washington.

But Gordon’s reach doesn’t stop there. Gordon is also featured on The Steve Harvey Morning Show, where he gives his perspective on current national headlines, and he records Right Now with Ed Gordon, which provides daily commentaries for radio stations across the country. He also hosts the nationally syndicated radio program, Weekend with Ed Gordon, a two-hour program featuring a mix of talk, information, entertainment, and music. It’s been called “a fun, smart radio show for grown folks.”

Aside from his own media ventures, Gordon continues to be at the fore- front of news. He conducted one-on-one interviews with President Barack Obama during his historic presidency. He has covered many of the world’s most defining events throughout his career, from the historic 2008 US presidential election to the freedom of South Africa’s Nelson Mandela to the beating of Rodney King to the upheavals in Haiti and Cuba. He’s also provided comprehensive coverage and up-to-the-minute reports on many other domes- tic and international events, including the tragic 9/11 attacks on America.

Gordon’s impressive interview portfolio also includes conversations with the following newsmakers: President Bill Clinton; Academy Award winners Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, and Halle Berry; Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan; actor Idris Elba; and the late musician Michael Jackson.

Some of Gordon’s other notable works that have garnered the admiration and respect of viewers and colleagues include the infamous O. J. Simpson interview; an exclusive interview with pop superstar Janet Jackson about her secret marriage and painful divorce; no-holds-barred interviews with controversial senator Trent Lott and embattled singer R. Kelly; the critically acclaimed one-on-one interview with Tupac Shakur (often noted as the rapper’s definitive interview); and a fiery interview during the 2017 NABJ national convention with White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman, made national headlines.

In addition to receiving an Emmy for his work, Gordon is the recipient of many other awards recognizing his talent and professionalism, including the NAACP Image Award and the prestigious Journalist of the Year Award from the National Association of Black Journalists.

Molefi Kete Asante is Professor and Chair, Department of Africology at Temple University in Philadelphia.  He is President of the Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies.  Asante was a Guest Professor, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, and is Professor Extraordinarius at the University of South Africa.

He is the Founding and Current Editor, Journal of Black Studies and first director of UCLA’s Center for Afro-American Studies in 1969.

Asante, often called the most prolific African American scholar, has published 94 books, among the most recent are The Perilous Center, or When Will the African Center Hold;  Radical Insurgencies; The History of Africa, 3^rd Edition; The African American People: A Global History;  Erasing Racism: The Survival of the American Nation; Revolutionary Pedagogy; African American History: A Journey of Liberation; African Pyramids of Knowledge; Facing South to Africa, and, the memoir, As I Run Toward Africa. Asante has published more than 500 articles and is considered one of the most quoted living African authors as well as one of the most distinguished thinkers in the African world. He has been recognized as one of the 10 most widely cited African scholars. Asante has been recognized as one of the most influential leaders in education. He has been named a HistoryMaker with an interview in the Library of Congress. In 2019 the National Communication Association named him an NCA Distinguished Scholar, its highest honor, saying that his writings were “spectacular and profound”.  He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, at the age of 26, and was appointed a full professor at the age of 30 at the State University of New York at Buffalo. At Temple University he created the first Ph.D. Program in African American Studies in 1988. He has directed more than 140 Ph.D. dissertations making him the top producer of doctorates among African American scholars. He is the founder of the theory of Afrocentricity.

Asante was born in Valdosta, Georgia, of Sudanese (Nubian) and Nigerian (Yoruba) DNA heritage. He is one of sixteen children. He is married to Ana Yenenga, an African Costa Rican, with Akan ancestry via Jamaica.  He is the father of the writer and filmmaker,  MK, Jr. and Eka Asante, and Mario Root.  He has six grandchildren, Jamar Ramses, Ayaana, Aion, Nova, Akira, and Akila. He is a poet, novelist, dramatist, and a painter. His works on African language, African history, multiculturalism, and human communication and philosophy have been cited and reviewed by journals such as the Africalogical Perspectives, Quarterly Journal of Speech, Journal of Black Studies, Black Scholar, Journal of Communication, American Scholar, Daedalus, Western Journal of Black Studies, and International Journal of Pan African Thought. The Utne Reader called him one of the “100 Leading Thinkers” in America. Asante has appeared on numerous television and social media programs in Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Europe. He has received many awards and honors for scholarship, philosophy, and political activism. He regularly consults with heads of state in Africa and has become one of the most popular lecturers on issues related to the United States of Africa.  He serves on the Thabo Mbeki African School of Leadership at UNISA. Asante was invited in February 2020 by the Russian Academy of Sciences and RUDN to co-chair a seminar on African Affairs with Professor E. Vasiliev; and his writings are in Russian, Spanish, Kiswahili, Portuguese, French, Hungarian, and Japanese. He was the President of the Civil Rights organization, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee’s chapter at UCLA in the 1960’s. In 1995 he was made a traditional king, Nana Okru Asante Peasah, Kyidomhene of Tafo, Akyem, Ghana. He was appointed a Wanadu of the Court of Hassimi Maiga, the Amiru of Gao, Songhay, Mali in 2009. Asante trained journalists in Zimbabwe immediately after the 2^nd Chimurenga and was a mentor to the first group of liberated journalists from Zimbabwe Institute of Mass Communication. Asante has received honorary doctorates and awards from several institutions, including Pepperdine University, Sojourner-Douglass College, University of South Africa, and University of New Haven. He remains a popular consultant for many school districts seeking to build Afrocentric curricula.

Imani Perry is the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies and faculty associate in the Program in Law and Public Affairs and Gender and Sexuality Studies at Princeton, Perry has written and taught on a number of topics regarding race and African American culture.

Using methods of discussion and analysis from various fields of study—including law, literary and cultural studies, music, and the social sciences—Perry’s work often focuses on multifaceted issues such as the influence of race on law, literature and music.

In her work, Perry has taken on complicated and timely issues. In her 2011 book, More Beautiful and More Terrible: The Embrace and Transcendence of Racial Inequality in the United States, for example, Perry discusses the ongoing intersection of race and politics in America.

In addition to More Beautiful, More Terrible, Perry is the author of Prophets of the Hood: Politics and Poetics in Hip Hop and May We Forever Stand: A History of the Black National Anthem, a cultural history of the black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” In 2018 Perry published a biography of Lorraine Hansberry, Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant Life of Lorraine Hansberry and Vexy Thing: On Gender and Liberation. Her most recent book: Breathe, a Letter to My Sons was released on September 17th.  

Perry has published numerous articles in the areas of law, cultural studies and African American Studies. She also wrote the notes and introduction to the Barnes and Noble Classics edition of The Narrative of Sojourner Truth.

Perry received a bachelor’s degree from Yale University. From there, she went on to obtain both her J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D in the history of American civilization from Harvard University.

Stacey Miller

Associate Provost for Inclusion and Retention
Representation and Access Keynote Speaker

Stacey A. Miller, Ed.D., joined Valparaiso University in 2015 as assistant provost for inclusion. Associate Provost Miller works closely with students, faculty, staff, and community members to advance diversity and equity as core values of Valparaiso University and as central to its educational mission.

In 2010, Associate Provost Miller co-founded the Consortium for Inclusion and Equity (CIE) LLC, a small firm that specializes in integrated diversity education and consulting, where she served as the managing partner. Associate Provost Miller has gained national recognition for her affirmative recruitment of a diverse staff and for her development and implementation of educational trainings and workshops on diversity and inclusion. She is sought out for her knowledge in collegiate residential settings, as well as secondary and elementary education. Associate Provost Miller also serves as a board of trustee for the International Institute for Restorative Practices Graduate School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Russell Kirby

Ally-ship Keynote Speaker

For nearly two decades, Russ Kirby, M.Div, has worked with racial justice-related initiatives and programs in higher education, corporate management, and church communities across the country. His particular research interest focuses on leadership in churches undergoing racial change.

Russ holds a B.A. in Religion from Pepperdine University, and an M.Div. (Multicultural Ministries- African-American Church Studies) from Fuller Theological Seminary.  Russ also undertook a three-year doctoral fellowship through Fuller’s DePree Leadership Center.

Russ is on the board of First Unitarian Church of Dallas, where he serves on the Racial Equity Task Force; Russ also chaired the Education Committee for Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) DFW,

  Involved in multimedia and performance art since his youth, Russ was a founding member of Pepperdine’s Multicultural Theatre Project. In addition to writing and performing music for television and commercials, he is a spoken word artist and performed in three college tours and regularly at The Comedy Store in Hollywood.

After ten years in ministry and higher education, Russ transitioned into the corporate sector in 2012. He has been married to his wife Miranda for sixteen years, and together they have four sons: Aidan, Caulen, Jordan, and Cameron.

Rev. John E. Jackson, Sr.

Justice, Faith, and Forgiveness Keynote Speaker

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Reverend Jackson received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Divinity degrees from Loyola University and McCormick Theological Seminary, respectively, in Chicago. Under the leadership of the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., Reverend Jackson served as the Associate Pastor to Men’s Ministries and the Pre-Marital Counseling Program at the dynamic Trinity United Church of Christ (TUCC).

A native of Chicago, Reverend Jackson received his bachelor of science and master of divinity degrees from Loyola University and McCormick Theological Seminary, respectively, in Chicago. Under the leadership of the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., Reverend Jackson served as the associate pastor to men’s ministries and the Pre-Marital Counseling Program at the dynamic Trinity United Church of Christ (TUCC). In this capacity, Reverend Jackson not only provided pastoral leadership to the various men’s ministries of TUCC, but he also facilitated a weekly men’s Bible class and organized the quarterly men’s worship service. Reverend Jackson also developed the annual men’s prayer breakfast into an annual men’s conference, providing opportunities for workshops, lectures, and worship to more than 500 brothers-in-Christ each year.

In 2004, Reverend John E. Jackson Sr. was called to serve as senior pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Gary, Indiana. Since its first worship service the second Sunday in October 2004, Trinity UCC-Gary has been consistently growing. In order to accommodate the ever-expanding ministries, Trinity UCC-Gary completed construction of their new sanctuary for worship and held their first worship service in the new edifice on Oct. 5, 2008. It is located at 1276 West 20th Avenue in the city of Gary. Trinity UCC-Gary is a congregation that believes in both arms of the Cross of Jesus Christ. The Vertical arms stretch toward heaven to receive Holy Ghost power to reach out into the community through the Horizontal arms and do the work of Jesus Christ. The motto of Trinity UCC-Gary is “We are not just another church but we are a culturally conscious Christ centered church committed to the community!”

2019 Featured Speakers

Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.

Eddie S. Glaude Jr. is a scholar who speaks to the black and blue in America. His most well-known books, Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul, and In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America, take a wide look at black communities and reveal complexities, vulnerabilities, and opportunities for hope. Hope that is, in one of his favorite quotes from W.E.B Du Bois, “not hopeless, but a bit unhopeful.” Other muses include James Baldwin, Malcolm X, and Bobby “Blue” Bland. In addition to his readings of early American philosophers and contemporary political scientists, Glaude turns to African American literature in his writing and teaching for insight into African American political life, religious thought, gender and class.

He is chair of the Department of African American Studies, a program he first became involved with shaping as a doctoral candidate in Religion at Princeton. He is the current president of the American Academy of Religion. His books on religion and philosophy include African American Religion: A Very Short Introduction and Exodus! Religion, Race and Nation in Early 19th Century Black America, which was awarded the Modern Language Association’s William Sanders Scarborough Book Prize. Glaude is also the author of two edited volumes, and many influential articles about religion for academic journals. He has also written for the likes of The New York Times and The Huffington Post.

Known to be a convener of conversations and debates, Glaude takes care to engage fellow citizens of all ages and backgrounds – from young activists, to fellow academics, journalists and commentators, and followers on Twitter in dialogue about the course of the nation. His scholarship and his sense of himself as a public intellectual are driven by a commitment to think carefully with others in public. Accordingly, his writing and ideas are cited and shared widely.

Currently Glaude is at work on a book about James Baldwin, tentatively titled James Baldwin’s America, 1963-1972. Of Baldwin, Glaude writes, “Baldwin’s writing does not bear witness to the glory of America. It reveals the country’s sins, and the illusion of innocence that blinds us to the reality of others. Baldwin’s vision then requires a confrontation with history (with slavery, Jim Crow segregation, with whiteness) to overcome its hold on us. Not to posit the greatness of America, but to establish the ground upon which to imagine the country anew.” Democracy in Black has been described in similar terms. Bill Moyers says the book “breathes with prophetic fire,” recently writing, “Democracy in Black is rich in history and bold in opinion, and inconvenient truths leap from every page.”

Some like to describe Glaude as the quintessential Morehouse man, having left his home in Moss Point, Mississippi at age 16 to begin studies at the HBCU. He holds a master’s degree in African American Studies from Temple University, and a Ph.D. in Religion from Princeton University. He began his teaching career at Bowdoin College. He has been a visiting scholar at Amherst College and Harvard. In 2011 he delivered Harvard’s Du Bois lectures. In 2015 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Colgate University, delivering commencement remarks titled, “Turning Our Backs.” He is a columnist for Time Magazine and regularly provides commentary on radio and television news programs like Democracy Now!, Morning Joe, and the 11th Hour. He hosts the podcast AAS 21, recorded at Princeton University in Stanhope Hall, the African American Studies department’s home.

Dr. SimonMary Aihiokhai

Dr. SimonMary Aihiokhai is a member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, province of Nigeria North-West. He is an assistant professor of systematic theology at the University of Portland. His research explores issues dealing with religion and identity, interfaith dialogue, comparative theology, and expressions of Christianity in the global context.

Dr. Dwight N. Hopkins

Dr. Dwight N. Hopkins is the Alexander Campbell Professor of Theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He initiated and managed a 14-country network to think about the practices of building healthy communities and healthy individuals in communities. With representatives from Hawaii, Fiji, Australia, Japan, India, England, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Cuba, Jamaica, Brazil, and the USA, the network forged learning about neighbors through neighbors sharing their cultures. Indeed, in international transactions of business, politics, and religions, one of the greatest challenges is lack of cultural understanding. Restated, cultures facilitate harmony and balance for the purpose of another world is possible in emerging markets. A higher vision and transcendent values glue the global together spiritually with wealth management..

Ms. Keri Gray

Keri Gray is the Director for the Rising Leaders Initiatives at US Business Leadership Network. In her work, Keri manages the Rising Leaders Mentoring Program and the Rising Leadership Academy for over 300 college students and recent graduates with disabilities who are interested in working in the private sector. These programs collaborate with over 70 companies and provide professional guidance so that students are equipped with knowledge and skills to transition from school to work. Additionally, Keri explores disability conversations with college students so that they are prepared to navigate how social topics impact their professional career and networks.

Ms. Denenine Powell

As the Executive Director for Groundwork Milwaukee, Deneine leads the daily operations and provides strategic direction to Groundwork Milwaukee. Under her leadership, Groundwork has launched several successful initiatives to promote green infrastructure workforce development programming and to expand the base of volunteers actively engaged in the stewardship of our local green spaces. She comes to Groundwork with over 15 years of consulting and nonprofit leadership experience, most recently as principal consultant of the Lilly and Hampton, a small business and resource development consulting firm. Before founding Lilly and Hampton, Powell worked for several nonprofit groups, including UW Parkside’s Small Business Development Center, Milwaukee Community Service Corps, and the Center for Self-Sufficiency. In addition, Powell has experience mobilizing grassroots advocates, formulating public policy, partnering with public agencies and developing programs.

2018 Featured Speakers

Nikole Hannah-Jones

Investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones covers racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine, and has spent years chronicling the way official policy has created—and maintains—racial segregation in housing and schools. She was named a 2017 MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow for “reshaping national conversations around education reform.” But this is simply the latest honor in a growing list: she’s won a George Polk Award, a Peabody, and a National Magazine Award. She has written extensively on the history of racism and inequality, school resegregation and the disarray of hundreds of desegregation orders, and the decades-long failure of the federal government to enforce the landmark 1968 Fair Housing Act. She has written one of the most widely read analyses of the racial implications of the controversial Fisher v. University of Texas affirmative action Supreme Court case. She is currently writing a book on school segregation called The Problem We All Live With, to be published on the One World imprint of Penguin/Random House.

She also won the Hillman Prize for Magazine Journalism for her New York Times Magazine cover story “Choosing a School for My Daughter in a Segregated City.” In 2016 she was awarded a George Polk Award for radio reporting for her This American Life story “The Problem We All Live With,” and her piece “Worlds Apart” in The New York Times Magazine won the 2017 National Magazine Award for “journalism that illuminates issues of national importance.” She was named Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists, and was also named to The Root 100. Her reporting has won Deadline Club Awards, Online Journalism Awards, the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Public Service, the Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting, the Emerson College President’s Award for Civic Leadership, and was a finalist for the National Magazine Award. She influences the next generation of journalists through the founding of and ongoing work with theIda B. Wells Society.

Hannah-Jones holds a Master of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina and earned her BA in History and African-American studies from the University of Notre Dame. For the Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies, she investigated social changes under Raul Castro and the impact of universal healthcare on Cuba’s educational system. She was also selected by the University of Pennsylvania to report on the impact of the Watts Riots for a study marking the 40th anniversary of the Kerner Commission report, 2007. Along with The New York Times, her reporting has been featured in ProPublica, The Atlantic Magazine, Huffington Post, Essence Magazine, The Week Magazine, Grist, PoliticoMagazine, and on Face the Nation, This American Life, NPR, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, MSNBC, C-SPAN, Democracy Now, and radio stations across the country.

Neha Gill

Neha Gill is the Executive Director of Apna Ghar, Inc. She held several key positions within the organization since starting in February, 2003 and has led consultations and trainings for local and international NGOs, journalists, government officials, and staff of UN agencies on providing services to survivors of gender based violence. She has been featured on WBEZ’s worldview show, Vocalo’s Feminist Wednesdays, public access television, and is cited in several studies and articles on gender violence in immigrant communities. She is a regular presenter and speaker at local, national and international conferences and events. In May, 2012 she delivered the keynote speech on human trafficking at the Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago’s annual gala. In May 2014, she was honored as an everyday “shero” by the National Asian Pacific Women’s Forum (NAPAWF).

Neha has extensive cross cultural experience having worked on women’s rights issues in East Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. Prior to joining Apna Ghar, Neha held positions in human resource management and business development for multinational consulting companies specializing in information technology. She served on the board of the Chicago chapter of the United Nations Association, a program of the United Nations Foundation, and is an advisory board member for From the Roots, an arts based nonprofit that fosters social entrepreneurship through cross cultural learning.

Rev. John E. Jackson, Sr.

A native of Chicago, Reverend Jackson received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Divinity degrees from Loyola University and McCormick Theological Seminary, respectively, in Chicago. Under the leadership of the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., Reverend Jackson served as the Associate Pastor to Men’s Ministries and the Pre-Marital Counseling Program at the dynamic Trinity United Church of Christ (TUCC). In this capacity, Reverend Jackson not only provided pastoral leadership to the various Men’s ministries of Trinity UCC, but he also facilitated a weekly Men’s Bible Class and organized the quarterly Men’s Worship Service.  Reverend Jackson also developed the Annual Men’s Prayer Breakfast into an Annual Men’s Conference, providing opportunities for workshops, lectures, and worship to over 500 brothers-in-Christ each year.

In 2004, Reverend John E. Jackson, Sr. was called to serve as Senior Pastor of The Trinity United Church of Christ in Gary, IN.  Since its first worship service the second Sunday in October 2004, Trinity UCC-Gary has been consistently growing.  In order to accommodate the ever-expanding ministries, Trinity UCC-Gary completed construction of their new sanctuary for worship, and held their first worship service in the new edifice on October 5, 2008.  It is located at 1276 West 20^th Avenue in the City of Gary. Trinity UCC-Gary is a congregation that believes in both arms of the Cross of Jesus Christ. The Vertical arms stretch toward heaven to receive Holy Ghost power to reach out into the community through the Horizontal arms and do the work of Jesus Christ. The motto of Trinity UCC-Gary is “We are not just another church but we are a culturally conscious Christ centered church committed to the community!”.

Dan Miller

Dan has been a member of UNITE HERE Local 1 for 17 years and currently serves as an Organizing Director. Local 1 represents almost 20,000 hospitality workers in the hotel, casino, and foodservice industries in Chicago and Northwest Indiana. In his time at Local 1 he’s been assigned to campaigns to transform working conditions in downtown Chicago, organize what became the 10 year Congress Hotel strike, organize airport workers into the union, and win and maintain healthcare in Northwest Indiana casinos. Dan feels at home on college campuses where he started in the labor movement when he was recruited as union steward for UAW Local 2322 – the union of teaching and research assistants at the University of Massachusetts.

Lorrell D. Kilpatrick

Having been involved in social justice work for most of her adult life, Lorrell D. Kilpatrick, M.S. began her activism in the environmental justice movement in her hometown of East Chicago, IN. Currently, she is a co-organizer with Black Lives Matter – Gary chapter, a disability rights advocate for Everybody Counts North in Hammond, IN, and an adjunct lecturer of sociology at Indiana University Northwest. Lorrell is the creator of a skills-action training series titled “More Than an Ally.” The training focuses on learning about the legacy of multiracial resistance, participants sharing their experiences with various movements and groups, and moving people toward resisting inequalities through base-building and organized action. She stresses that only a gender-inclusive, inter-generational, multiracial, accessible, anti-racist movement will secure a true quality of life for everyone.

2017 Featured Speakers

Cornel West, Ph.D.

Cornel West is a prominent and provocative democratic intellectual. He is a Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. He has also taught at Yale, Harvard, and the University of Paris. Cornel West graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard in three years and obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy at Princeton.

He has written 20 books and has edited 13. He is best known for his classics, Race Matters and Democracy Matters, and for his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. His most recent book, Black Prophetic Fire, offers an unflinching look at nineteenth and twentieth-century African American leaders and their visionary legacies.

Dr. West is a frequent guest on the Bill Maher Show, CNN, C-Span and Democracy Now. He made his film debut in the Matrix – and was the commentator (with Ken Wilbur) on the official trilogy released in 2004. He also has appeared in over 25 documentaries and films including Examined Life, Call and Response, Sidewalk and Stand.

He has produced three spoken word albums including Never Forget, collaborating with Prince, Jill Scott, Andre 3000, Talib Kweli, KRS-One and the late Gerald Levert. His spoken word interludes are featured on productions by Terence Blanchard, The Cornel West Theory, Raheem DeVaughn, and Bootsy Collins.

In short, Cornel West has a passion to communicate to a vast variety of publics in order to keep alive the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. – a legacy of telling the truth and bearing witness to love and justice.

Awilda Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Awilda Rodriguez is an assistant professor in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan. Her research is at the intersection of higher education policy, college access and choice, and the representation of Black, Latino, low-income, and first-generation students in postsecondary education.

Her most recent project examines issues of equity in access to rigorous high school coursework. Along with many policy reports and contributions to edited volumes, Rodriguez’s work has been published in Research in Higher Education, Educational Policy, Diverse Issues in Higher Education, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Rodriguez received her doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and previously worked as a research fellow at American Enterprise Institute’s Center for Higher Education Reform as well as a research associate at The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

Andrea Lyon, J.D.

Andrea Lyon, a leader in curriculum reform and embracing diversity, was appointed dean of Valparaiso University Law School in July 2014. Upon receiving her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University and her law degree from Antioch School of Law, Dean Lyon worked for the Cook County Public Defenders’ Office in the felony trial division, post-conviction/habeas corpus unit, preliminary hearing/first municipal (misdemeanor) unit, and the appeals division.

Her last position there was chief of the Homicide Task Force, a 22-lawyer unit representing persons accused of homicides. She has tried more than 130 homicide cases, defended more than 30 potential capital cases at the trial level, and has taken 19 through penalty phase; she won all 19. A winner of the prestigious National Legal Aid and Defender Association’s Reginald Heber Smith Award for best advocate for the poor in the country, she is a nationally recognized expert in the field of death penalty defense, a frequent continuing legal education teacher throughout the country, and founder of the Illinois Capital Resource Center. In January 2015, she was awarded Operation Push’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Lyndon B. Johnson Dream-Makers Award.

Trelawney “Trey” Boynton, M.A.

With more than 15 years of experience working in university settings, Trey Boynton has spent her professional career working to create inclusive environments. In 2014, she joined the office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs (MESA) at the University of Michigan, and she previously  served as director of diversity and inclusion at the University of Michigan. In her work, Boynton strives to create a space in which all students are valued, celebrated, and able to define their own success. Originally from northern California, Boynton studied at Spelman College, Georgetown University, and the University of Michigan.

She was a Rackham Merit Scholar, recognized as a Distinguished Diversity Leader, and received a Smithsonian Computerworld award.

Joy J. Moore, Ph.D.

Serving as assistant professor of preaching at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., and academic liaison to the William E. Pannell Center for African American Church Studies, Joy J. Moore, Ph.D., (Brunel University/London School of Theology) teaches in the area of homiletics and the practice of ministry. An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church,  Moore seeks to encourage theologically framed, biblically attentive, and socially compelling interpretations of familiar passages in order to understand the critical issues influencing community formation in contemporary culture.

2016 Featured Speakers

Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, Ph.D.

Freeman A. Hrabowski, Ph.D., President of University of Maryland, Baltimore County since 1992, is a consultant on science and math education to national agencies, universities, and school systems. He was named by President Obama to chair the newly created President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans. He also chaired the National Academies’ committee that produced the report, “Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads” (2011).

Wanda M. Akin, J.D.

Wanda M. Akin maintains her private practice in Newark, N.J., and teaches at Seton Hall University School of Law and Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations. Akin taught in the Seton Hall Law/American University at Cairo, Egypt. Her 33 years of experience as a trial lawyer span a variety of controversies including criminal defense, complex product liability, property claims, catastrophic personal injury, employment/labor, trademark and copyright, and other complex litigation.

Tanya Brice, Ph.D.

Tanya Smith Brice, Ph.D., is dean of the School of Health and Human Services at Benedict College. Originally from Greenville, S.C., Brice holds a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, master’s from the University of South Carolina, and bachelor’s from South Carolina State University. Her research centers on structural violence and its impact on African American people. Her publications discuss the development of the social welfare system by African American women for African American children.

Raymond M. Brown, J.D.

Raymond M. Brown is a partner in the litigation department of Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith and Davis LLP. He has practiced international law criminal law, teaches, writes, lectures, and is an international legal journalist. Brown has conducted investigations throughout the United Sates as well as internationally. He frequently lectures to criminal and civil lawyers, law enforcement personnel and judges, students, civil society elements, and others on inter alia trial practice, human rights, and international law.

Jerry Taylor, D.MIN.

Jerry A. Taylor, D.Min., is associate professor of bible at Abilene Christian University. A native of Covington, Tenn., Taylor received his doctor of ministry from Southern Methodist University, Dallas; master of divinity from Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University; and bachelor of arts from Southwestern Christian College in Terrell, Texas. Taylor has served as minister of churches of Christ in Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia. He is the author of the recently released book entitled “Courageous Compassion.”

Alisha Winn, Ph.D.

An applied cultural anthropologist, Alisha R. Winn, Ph.D., focuses on historic preservation, museums, heritage education for youth, oral narratives, educational disparities, race, identity, and class. She received her Ph.D. from the University of South Florida; master’s from Georgia State University, and bachelor’s degrees from Florida Atlantic University and Bethune-Cookman University. Through AMC Source, she manages nonprofit higher education organizations and works for the National Association for Diversity Officers in Higher Education.

2015 Featured Speakers

Ishmael Beah

Ishmael Beah was born in Sierra Leone on November 23, 1980. When he was eleven, Ishmael’s life, along with the lives of millions of other Sierra Leoneans, was derailed by the outbreak of a brutal civil war.

After his parents and two brothers were killed, Ishmael was recruited to fight as a child soldier. He was thirteen. He fought for over two years before he was removed from the army by UNICEF and placed in a rehabilitation home in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.

After completing rehabilitation in late 1996, Ishmael won a competition to attend a conference at the United Nations to talk about the devastating effects of war on children in his country. It was there that he met his new mother, Laura Simms, a professional storyteller who lives in New York. Ishmael returned to Sierra Leone and continued speaking about his experiences to help bring international attention to the issue of child soldiering and war affected children.

In 1998 Ishmael came to live with his American family in New York City. He completed high school at the United Nations International School, and subsequently went on to Oberlin College in Ohio. Throughout his high school and undergraduate education, Ishmael continued his advocacy work to bring attention to the plight of child soldiers and children affected by war around the world, speaking on numerous occasions on behalf of Unicef, Human Rights Watch, United Nations Secretary General’s Office for Children and Armed Conflict, at the United Nations General Assembly, serving on a UN panel with Secretary General Kofi Annan and discussing the issue with dignitaries such as Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton. He is a member of the Human Rights Watch Children’s Rights Division Committee.

In A Long Way Gone, Beah tells a riveting story. At the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. Eventually released by the army and sent to a UNICEF rehabilitation center, he struggled to regain his humanity and to reenter the world of civilians, who viewed him with fear and suspicion. This is, at last, a story of redemption and hope. The book was named one of the Top 10 Nonfiction Books of 2007 and has since been translated into over 40 languages.

Beah’s first novel, Radiance of Tomorrow, follows two boys’ return home after the Sierra Leone civil war and the struggle to regain the normalcy of pre-war life. Since its release in early 2014, the story has received high praise from critics, including The New York Times review, “There is an allegorical richness to Beah’s storytelling and a remarkable humanity to his characters.”

Ishmael serves as an advisory board member of the Center for the Study of Youth and Political Violence at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; a former visiting scholar at the Center for International Conflict Resolution at Columbia University; a senior research fellow at the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights at Rutgers University; cofounder of the Network of Young People Affected by War (NYPAW); and president of the Ishmael Beah Foundation.

He lives with his wife in New York City.

Joanne Bland

During her lifetime she has been a witness and participant in some of our nation’s most consequential civil rights battles. She began her civil rights activism in the early 60s. The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) activists organized Bland and other area children and teenagers to participate in the civil rights movement. In the front lines of the struggle, the young Bland marched on “Bloody Sunday” and “Turn Around Tuesday,” and the first leg of the successful March from Selma to Montgomery, witnessing brutal beatings of fellow marchers by police. By the time she was 11 years old Bland had been arrested documented 13 times. Ms. Bland’s early involvement in the struggle against “Jim Crow,” American apartheid, has been the foundation for her civil and human rights work throughout her life.

A much sought after speaker with a compelling personal story of civil rights activism, Ms. Bland has presented at conferences and workshops from the Smithsonian in Washington, DC to the states Maine, Wisconsin, Vermont, Minnesota, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, Mississippi, Washington, Oregon and, of course, throughout Alabama. Currently, Mrs. Bland is owner and operator of Journeys For The Soul, a touring agency that specializes in Civil Rights tours with a major focus on Selma, Alabama.

Ms. Bland is also co-founder and former director of the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma, Alabama.

Ms. Bland spoke with Valparaiso University students during a visit to Selma, Alabama in March 2013. A portion of her interaction with the Valpo group can be seen in the video linked.

Richard Morrisroe

Richard Morrisroe, J.D., D. Min., a former Catholic priest and now attorney, is the city planner for East Chicago, IN and also teaches business ethics and social justice at Calumet College of St. Joseph. Morrisroe walked and worked with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to advance educational and voting rights. After responding to a call from Dr. King in 1965 to northern clergy members to assist with helping to register African-Americans to vote in Alabama, Morrisroe was shot on the same day when Episcopal seminarian Jonathan Myrick Daniels was shot and killed. Morrisroe has dedicated his life and work to advance civil rights ever since.

Terry Smith

Terry Smith is a Distinguished Research Professor at DePaul College of Law in Chicago and is the author of Barack Obama, Post-Racialism and the New Politics of Triangulation (Palgrave MacMillan 2012 and 2013). A magna cum laude graduate of Brown University and a Patricia Roberts Harris Fellow while attending New York University Law School, Professor Smith has clerked for the Honorable Nathanial R. Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, worked in private practice and taught at Fordham Law School for sixteen years prior to joining DePaul’s faculty. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles appearing in leading legal periodicals and is currently writing a book on how legal structures compel the transfer of black Americans’ wealth.

2014 Featured Speakers

2013 Featured Speaker

Guest Speaker: Eboo Patel

Patel’s core belief is that religion is a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division. He’s inspired to build this bridge by his faithas a Muslim, his Indian heritage, and his American citizenship. He has spoken about this vision at places like the TED conference, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the Nobel Peace PrizeForum, as well as college and university campusesacross the country. He has written two books about interfaith cooperation, Acts of Faith and Sacred Ground. Some people ask if Patel ever stops talking about interfaith. If it’s any indication, his 5-year-old son can define interfaith cooperation.

Closing Speaker: Jamil Khoury

Jamil Khoury is Founding Artistic Director of Silk Road Rising. Khoury’s plays focus on Middle Eastern themes and questions of Diaspora. He is particularly interested in the intersections of culture, national identity, sexuality, and class.Khoury holds an M.A. degree in Religious Studies from The University of Chicago Divinity School and a B.S. degree in International Relations from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He is a Kellogg Executive Scholar (Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University) and has been awarded a Certificate of Professional Achievement in Nonprofit Management. Khoury is the 2010 recipient of the 3Arts Artist Award for Playwriting.

2012 Featured Speaker

2012 MLK Convocation Keynote – Tim King

2012 Valpo MLK Day Closing Speech

2011 Featured Speaker

Luma Mufleh

Luma Mufleh is the inspirational coach of a soccer team called the Fugees—short for refugees. The players on this team come from 18 war-torn countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Congo, Somalia and Sudan. Most of them have endured unimaginable hardship: one young boy was forced by soldiers to shoot his own best friend, another watched his father shot to death, and all have been robbed of their childhood.

An immigrant from Jordan, Mufleh moved to Atlanta a year and a half after graduating from Smith College. While driving through the town of Clarkston, Georgia, she noticed a group of boys playing soccer in the street. They played without some of the most basic equipment—but they played for the sheer enjoyment of the game—something that reminded her of home. In the summer of 2004, she made fliers announcing tryouts for a soccer team. The flyers were in Arabic, English, French and Vietnamese and were distributed around apartment complexes where many refugees lived.

Mufleh quickly realized that the needs of this particular team were going to be unique. In addition to the challenges faced by every preteen and teenager, the players on this team were dealing with post-traumatic stress issues, language barriers, cultural disconnects and devastating poverty as their economic reality.

By making a commitment to these young children, Mufleh made a commitment to their families as well. The team provides strict discipline (all players must sign a code of conduct contract), tutoring for the players, and a sense of community for them and their families. Weaving together a community based on shared experiences, both on and off the field, Mufleh helps the players develop support networks for themselves and their entire families.

Recognizing that as one single volunteer she couldn’t begin to address the complex needs of the players and their families, in the fall of 2006, Mufleh helped found the Fugees Family With a goal to help refugee families transition to life in the U.S., the organization provides tutoring, assistance with housing, and health and educational programming. Mufleh also founded Fresh Start, a cleaning service that employs immigrants or refugees, many of whom are parents of the players, guarantees forty hours of work a week starting at $10 an hour and provides professional development: English language training and finance, computer, and cleaning skills. In the summer of 2007, Mufleh gave ownership of Fresh Start to her employees.

With an emphasis on what can be done to change the life of one child, one family at a time, Mufleh’s work is the kind of “Social Entrepreneurship” that radically transforms any community. At the podium, Mufleh movingly talks about how she became involved with the Fugees, the plight of the children she helps and what they teach her in turn.

The story of The Fugees and their coach embodies many of the ideals that are thought of as “American”: giving opportunity for selffulfillment, using one’s own ideas and talents to help the common goal and remembering that “we don’t win or lose alone—it’s always the team score in the end.”