MLK Dream Week highlighted by ‘me too.’ Movement founder's keynote

Northwestern University will commemorate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of events Jan. 15 to 28, 2020. Many events are free and open to the public, including the keynote events with Tarana Burke on Jan. 27.

Burke will speak on the Chicago campus at noon in Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Ave., and at 5 p.m. on the Evanston campus at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive.

Both events are free and open to the public. To attend the Evanston campus event online reservations are required. 

This year’s keynote speaker was selected with the 150 Years of Women at Northwestern in mind. The year-long initiative celebrates groundbreaking women, womxn and gender-diverse individuals who have taken risks, charted their own course and inspired transformational change.

Burke has dedicated more than 25 years of her life to social justice and to laying the groundwork for a movement that was initially created to help women of color who survived sexual abuse and assault. The movement now inspires solidarity, amplifies the voices of thousands of victims of sexual abuse and puts the focus on survivors.

Her remarks during MLK Dream Week will address the importance of the ‘me too.’ Movement, the story behind the viral 2017 TIME Person of The Year cover and as her current role as executive director of the ‘me too.’ organization.

Burke was named one of The Root 100’s most influential persons of 2018. She is author of the forthcoming book “Where the Light Enters,” an account of her personal journey from “victim to survivor to thriver.”

For the complete schedule of MLK Dream Week events, visit Northwestern’s MLK Commemoration website.