Rice community celebrates MLK Day

On Jan. 18, the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Rice University community held a candlelight vigil followed by a program titled “The Struggle for Social Justice Continues” to celebrate the life of the legendary civil rights leader.

Photo credit: Connor Stuart-Paul

The vigil and program were held at the Rice Memorial Chapel. Speakers included Jenifer Bratter, associate professor of sociology and director of the Kinder Institute’s Program for the Study of Ethnicity, Race and Culture; Luis Duno-Gottberg, associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese; Alexander Byrd, associate professor of history; Michael Emerson, the Allyn Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology and academic director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research; and Gary Nakamura, president of the Houston chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League.

On Jan. 19, members of the Rice community, including the Black Student Association and the Association of Rice University Black Alumni, also participated in the Black Heritage Society’s 37th annual “Original” MLK Birthday Parade and the 21st annual MLK Grand Parade.