"This year’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Lecture at Hope College will include national as well as local perspective. Hope Professor Emeritus John Yelding, a specialist in diversity in education who continues to be active at the college as a teacher and mentor, will present “Reflections on MLK, Civil Rights, and DEI at Hope College” on Monday, Jan. 15, at 2 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.

The public is invited. Admission is free.

The lecture will examine King’s legacy in his efforts to attain dignity for all people, provide a brief overview of civil rights movements in the history of the United States, and take the audience on a historical tour of the work and achievements of Hope’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion in honor of the 40th anniversary of its creation. A reception will follow from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the college’s van Andel Huys der Hope. The presentation is one of multiple events taking place during Civil Rights Celebration Week at Hope, and is also launching a year-long commemoration of CDI’s anniversary that will include several events across the spring and fall semesters in 2024." Press Release by Greg Olgers