When Freeman Hrabowski was just 12 years old, he was jailed for participating in a civil rights protest in Birmingham, Alabama, in the 1960s. That was how incendiary race relations were at the time.
Hrabowski, now president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and named by Time magazine in 2012 as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world, says profound changes have happened since then—but our society still confronts many civil rights challenges. Does it have to be this way? Hrabowski doesn't think so. He believes each of us has a story that can inspire change.
Please join us to hear President Hrabowski speak about his experiences, his hopes, and the role of young people in the civil rights movement at the 30th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Convocation.
In addition to the talk, there will be entertainment including performances by Grammy-nominated singer Tammi Brown and the African American Theater Arts Troupe, as well as the presentation of the 6th annual Tony Hill Memorial Award.
Bringing together UC Santa Cruz students, faculty, staff, and members of our wider community, the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Convocation celebrates the life and dream of the late civil rights leader by reaffirming the human ideals of freedom, justice, community, and opportunity.
The event is Thursday, February 6, at 7 p.m. at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church Street, Santa Cruz. Free and open to the public; no advance ticketing is required. UCSC shuttles will be provided to students for transportation to the Civic Auditorium and return to campus after the event. To learn more about the convocation, visit ucsc.edu/mlk.
I hope you will join your colleagues and our community for this inspiring event in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.
