Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

For 36 years, Michigan Tech has honored and celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—a man who refused to sit idly by while he and others were treated less than, who brought people together to fight for justice and equality. Dr. King is most recognized for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience and as a national icon in the history of American progressivism.

Schedule of Events

The 37th Annual MLK Jr Day Celebration takes place on January 19, 2026. Several events are planned leading up to the day and beyond. Check out the events below from the 36th Annual Celebration and save the date for the 37th!

Preparation and Beyond

Craft Day Workshop, Jan. 9, '25

Hamar House, 5 p.m.-7p.m.
The Black Student Alliance will host a poster-making session for students to prepare works for display at the Van Pelt and Opie Library for MLK and Black History Month art exhibits.

Student Art Exhibit, Jan. 16–31

Van Pelt and Opie Library
The Van Pelt and Opie Library will feature an MLK exhibit along the curved wall in the Opie Reading Room. This year, all students are invited to create a digital or physical art poster for display.

Reading Day, Student Service Project, Jan 17, '25

Local elementary schools, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Michigan Tech will support the local elementary school students by reading a MLK book to students around the community.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan 20, '25

MLK Brunch

MUB Ballroom, 10 a.m.
Join us for free food, live music from the Workshop Brass Band, and our Keynote address by Schwartzen Precil.

This event is open to all, students and community members alike.

Interfaith Prayer Service

Van Pelt and Opie Library, Noon
The Van Pelt and Opie Library will host a Prayer Service where religious communities on campus alongside individuals will read excerpts from Dr. King's works.

We welcome voulenteers at this event to share the messages of MLK and how they relate to their own beliefs.

Watch this year's Banquet Celebration:Live stream on YouTube

McNair Scholar's Beloved Community Luncheon w/ Schwartzen Precil

Rehki G005, 2:30-4:00 p.m.

The Mcnair Scholars program invites all students to share a relaxed luncheon with Schwartzen. This luncheon will be informal, and allow students to interact with our speaker more intimately concerning academic aspirations, leadership, and community involvement. Books and signing by the author will also be available at this event.

Keynote Speaker

Schwartzen Precil

As early as 2019, Schwartzen Precil has been recognized for several literary awards. After taking the literary world by storm with his first Young-Adult Non-fiction book “Be Your Own Hero: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities,” the American Best Book Award prized him as one of the top young adult authors at the age of 25. As recently as 2024, he was nominated for the Next Generation 30 under 30 for curriculum development in the social emotional learning field by personsoftheyear.com for his fourth published book “Empower The Hero Within.” Organizations bring in Schwartz for boldly sharing his youth empowerment techniques developed during his AmeriCorp VISTA year of service. He erupted as a community leader that year due to his advocacy for erasing poverty with leading practices that produced healthier outcomes for low opportunity youth and their families.

His expertise in leadership development has a mentorship-based approach that focuses on a “train-the-trainer” model where youth serving professionals and programs have implemented the model across the nation. Providing practical solutions to obstacles faced within foster care inspired his first book, “Turning Obstacles into Opportunities” during which he searched and found his long lost family. Schwartz continues to partner with nonprofits and faith based programs that bring healing to marginalized communities.

Bayard Rustin Award

In 2019, NSBE began the tradition of awarding the Bayard Rustin Award to a servant leader on campus during the annual MLK reception. This award honors a servant leader who is often behind the scenes making significant strides and recognizes them publicly for their commitment. Bayard Rustin acted as an influential adviser "behind the scenes" to civil-rights leaders. He worked along Dr. King and helped organize Freedom Rides and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Rustin also served as an organizer for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. On November 20, 2013, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Past Recipients

2023 - Christopher Sanders

"I am honored and humbled to receive the Bayard Rustin Award from the Michigan Technological University Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. Since starting here at MTU, our community - and especially our students - have gone out of their way to ensure that I felt welcome on campus. I appreciate each of you and thank you for always letting me know that I am a valued member of our Husky Family. A special thank you to the students who nominated me for this award. I am deeply grateful for your kind words."

2021 - Joseph Cooper

Joe Cooper holding the 2021 Bayard Rustin Award

"It's such an honor to have been awarded the Bayard Rustin Award by the National Society of Black Engineers at Michigan Tech, especially during the 2020-2021 year which brought continued challenges for our campus community. Much of Rustin's work with Dr. King and other civil rights leaders took place behind the scenes, and his impact was invaluable. As a white cisgender man at Michigan Tech, I recognize my privilege and my responsibility to continue to remove barriers and advance the campus climate so that all members of our community feel safe, valued, and a strong sense of belonging. I want to thank NSBE and all BIPOC members of our campus community for all the work and labor they continue to put in to make our college a better place. We all need to do our part so that this labor is not falling only on BIPOC folks."

2020 - Karen Wade

Karen Wade standing with students in NSBE

"I am deeply grateful to be a part of the diversity and inclusion efforts at Michigan Tech. I work in an amazing environment and get to see our awesome students every day. I learn so much from them and I enjoy having them in my life. It is a pleasure to help our students succeed and to be a part of creating a welcoming, inclusive and safe environment. This award means the world to me and I feel very honored to have been chosen."

2019 - Darnishia Slade

Dar Slade holding the 2019 Bayard Rustin Award

"I'm still floored about winning the Bayard Rustin award. Ya know that phrase, do what you would do when no one's looking? For me to get the award from the students was the highest compliment and really powerful for me.
I currently work in Pavlis Honors College, and it's a lot of fun. In my 13-plus years at Michigan Tech, I can't remember the last time I worked. There are long days, hard days, and difficult days, but I can't remember the last time I worked. It never feels like work for me. I get all of my energy from students. I feel like I secretly get more than I give (laughs). I learn so much, and I'm always challenged in new and different ways. Higher ed is my calling in life; I love being on a college campus. There's always something going on, something to do, something to think about, something to dialogue about. I'm also one of the advisors for the Society of Intellectual Sisters (SIS) and I was a member when I was a student here. I'm very passionate about it, so I continue to serve in that capacity with the young ladies.
I'm working on a degree, studying mental toughness and persistence. I'm living it and studying it (laughs). A lot of mental toughness and persistence has been studied in top performing athletes or the military. Bringing it into an academic context is pretty cool. The big juicy question is how can we get away from 'oh, they have the right GPA or the right SAT score.' There's just so much more to people that causes them to be successful and I think we just need to look at that a little more. The reason why I am getting the PhD is to be at the table, to be a voice for people who don't have a voice at the table; so it's bigger than me. I do believe there's a level of influence that happens from being at the right table.
I always say 'you don't go through Michigan Tech, Michigan Tech goes through you,' and it is truly an experience. I want to pay it forward every day. The experiences and the support I had as a Michigan Tech student transformed my life."
For more about Darnishia and her award, visit mtu.news/slade-award .