Wayne State University will hold its Tribute to the Life and Legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Friday, January 16, 2026, at 10 a.m. to noon in the Community Arts Auditorium. 

“Women of the Movement – Then & Now,” will honor the lives of three women who lost their husbands to assassinations during the Civil Rights Movement and how they remained in the movement and forged their own legacies - Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr.; Betty Shabazz, the widow of Malcolm X; and Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of Medgar Evers. That is the “then.”

The “now” will recognize the role current-day women continue to have by dedicating their work to ensuring Civil Rights for all. Our keynote speaker is Dr. Keisha N. Blain, one of the most innovative and influential young historians of her generation. Dr. Blain is a Professor of Africana Studies and History at Brown University, a columnist for MSNBC, and former president of the African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS). She is the 2022 recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship and a 2022 Andrew Carnegie Fellow.

The tribute will feature dynamic performances by the Black Theater and Dance Collective; WSU alumna, Detroit Poet Laureate, nationally acclaimed author, and performance artist jessica Care moore; the WSU Chorale; and the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences Show Choir.

The Dr. Arthur L. Johnson Community Leadership Award will be presented to WSU alumna Dawn N. Ison, former United States attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Please RSVP by Friday, January 9, 2026. NOTE: All guests should RSVP separately.