Black and white photo of Nikki Giovanni delivering MLK Convocation in 1995
Image 03556, Case Western Reserve University Archives

In CWRU History: MLK Convocation

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This week, Case Western Reserve University will host PBS Forefront correspondent Jelani Cobb for a virtual installment of the annual MLK Convocation. 

Cobb’s talk will be just the latest in a tradition established at the university in 1988, when the first annual MLK Convocation was held. Ever since, the university has welcomed nationally renowned speakers for the event, including a 1995 address by Nikki Giovanni (pictured), an author, poet and national speaker. A University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech University, Giovanni has been a speaker at CWRU for other events, including the Office of Multicultural Affairs 2006 Unity Banquet.

The MLK Convocation gets its roots from a university event held to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. just a week after he was assassinated in April 1968.

Get more details about this year’s convocation and register to hear Cobb’s remarks.