MLK Commemoration Events:

This commemorative plaque hangs at the entrance of Hagan Arena, the location where Dr. King spoke in 1967 and where John Lewis spoke in April 2018.

Dr. King in profile

A full audience of students, alumni, faculty and staff participate in the community reading of Dr. King's 1967 remarks.

Assistant Provost for Inclusion and Diversity Monica Nixon opens the 50th Anniversary Commemoration in October 2017.

Seniors from the Community Academy of Philadelphia in Upper Darby, PA

The Rev. Dr. Charles Howard, chaplain of the University of Pennsylvania, offers a reflection and challenge to the audience.

The first 200 people to arrive at the 50th Anniversary Commemoration received a special edition t-shirt and greetings from Susan Liebell, associate professor of Political Science, Natalie Walker Brown, director of Student Inclusion & Diversity, and Wadell Ridley, assistant vice president for Government and Community Relations.

Civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis enters Hagan Arena with Associate Provost for Inclusion and Diversity Monica Nixon, Ed.D., University President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D., and Executive Director of Mission Programs Dan Joyce, S.J.

In 1967 James Mingle '68, then SJU's student body president, invited Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to campus to deliver a speech in an on-campus speaker series. On April 16, 2018, he joined a crowd of SJU faculty and students to listen to King's contemporary, civil rights leader John Lewis, speak in Hagan Arena.

Taicha Morin ’20 reflected on the year’s events and on Lewis’ place in history.

Civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis speaks to a crowd at Saint Joseph's "If it weren't for Martin Luther King Jr., I don't know what would have happened to our country, to America."

Lewis recounts the first times he heard about King in 1955 and his early days following King and Parks from the days of the Freedom Riders, who protested the segregation of public buses, through Bloody Sunday and the marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

“I say to you as students, as young people, as parents and teachers: never give up. Never give in. Never lose faith,” he said. “We will get there. We will create the beloved community," said Rep. John Lewis to the crowd.

“Martin Luther King Jr. helped liberate America,” said Congressman Lewis. “As a country we are better. As a people we are better. We have come too far. We are not going back. We are going forward.”

Lewis received a standing ovation for his inspiring speech.

Civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis poses with SJU undergraduate and graduate students following his speech in Hagan Arena.

Dr. Mark C. Reed, University President and Congressman Lewis visited the plaque in Hagan Arena that commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s visit to campus in October 1967.