10%

MLK DAY 2026

This year's theme: Love, anger and the struggle for justice

By Bates College

January 29^th, 2026

Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Bates is not a “day off” — it’s a “day on,” where normal classes are canceled and faculty, staff, and students are instead invited to participate in a day of programming that explores MLK’s enduring legacy and teachings.

The theme of this year's observance was “Love, Anger and the Struggle for Justice.” The day’s workshops, panels, performances, and film screenings aimed to explore the theme of anger in social justice — its utility, its downfalls, and everything in between.

Event facilitators included faculty, students, and staff along with visitors to campus, both from the local Lewiston–Auburn community and around the world. As always, all events were free and open to the public, encouraging all who were interested in participating to join the day’s dialogue and take advantage of the opportunity for education.

President Jenkins and Myisha Cherry laugh while holding mugs at the MLK Day Committee meeting. A table with cake and fruit sits between them.

Our MLK Day observance begins with the keynote speaker

The keynote speaker for this year’s MLK Day was Myisha Cherry, who focused on the idea of fear as a motivating force in social justice work — drawing from the writings of Dr. King. Cherry, an associate professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside, explained the differences between what King called “normal” and “abnormal” fear.

Normal fear, she explained, can lead us toward action. With much to fear these days, Cherry made clear that our era isn’t so different from Martin Luther King Jr.’s time — an age he described as one of “catastrophic change and calamitous uncertainty,” marked by people overwhelmed by “depression and bewilderment of crippling fear, which like a nagging hound of hell, pursues our every footstep.”

As the full day of programming kicked off, Cherry reminded the crowd in Gomes Chapel that fear can be harnessed so that we can survive and thrive in difficult times, instead of being consumed or overwhelmed by them. Students, faculty, staff, and many community members rose to their feet to give Cherry a heartfelt standing ovation after the end of her stirring speech.

People gather in a church sanctuary for MLK Day 2026. Banners hang above the pews. A woman in a patterned sweater gestures while speaking to another woman. A screen reads

Three audience members listen intently at Martin Luther King Jr. Day event. The first man rests his chin on his hand.

Attendees listen during an MLK Day event. A young man in a red striped hat rests his chin on his hand, looking intently. Others sit in the background.

A man with a beard looks thoughtfully to the side in a crowded room. The lighting is subdued, and other people are visible in the foreground and background.

Dream Big with the Bobcats

Bates student-athletes hosted a free Community Day, Dream Big with the Bobcats. The event included a brief discussion on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., along with reading, coloring, and other hands-on activities for local youth, grades K-6. There was also an optional fun run/walk/roll to wrap up the day.

Keynote book signing and Silencing to Empowerment

After her keynote speech, Cherry, signed copies of her book The Case for Rage: Why Anger is Essential to Anti-Racist Struggle for students, faculty, staff, and community members — including John Harun-DeLong ’26 of Fairbanks, Alaska, pictured below — in the Commons Fireplace Lounge.

At the same time, Yun Garrison, assistant professor of psychology, and Fowsia Musse of Maine Community Integration facilitated the workshop “From Silencing to Empowerment,” which explored how anger can be a “transformative force for healing and justice,” particularly in the lives of refugee women and women of color. Musse shared her extraordinary journey from Somalia to the United States, and eventually Maine, and her experience with returning to the African continent in 2022 for the first time since 1995 to visit family and nearly being killed at the airport. “I came back physically fragmented,” she said. “Before I was mentally fragmented.”

“All the years of therapy became super important that day,” Musse said. “Everything in me came out. Everything I was taught in therapy sessions that I thought was useless, every skill that I never thought could benefit me, came to benefit me that day.”

“I learned how to help myself,” she added.

Workshop participants used storytelling, art-based reflection, and small-group dialogue to explore these potential uses of anger as a healing force, working within the Ka Bogso (“Be Healed”) trauma-healing framework that Garrison and Musse developed. It was a time of sharing, with participants sharing experiences, and their struggles at this particular moment in time, ranging from first-generation students worried for their immigrant parents to those who work closely with immigrant groups in Lewiston.

A diverse group sits at tables in a bright room, engaged in discussion. A woman in a red sweater gestures while speaking to a man. A screen displays an image.

Sinners and Baldwin and Beyoncé

Charles Nero, Benjamin E. Mays ’20 Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies, led a dynamic conversation on topics raised by Ryan Coogler’s 2025 Sinners. In an overflowing room, panelists Stephanie Kelley-Romano, professor of rhetoric, film, and screen studies, and Dale Chapman, professor of music, were joined on stage by Matthew Fox ’26, Bella Saul ’26, Aidan Stark-Chessa ’26, and Braedon Parker ’27. Sinners, a genre-bending film, has just been nominated for 16 Academy Awards — the most that any film has ever received. The panel focused on themes ranging from choosing the monstrous over living with racial domination, vampirism as commentary on capitalism, and empowerment through music.

Also in the morning, Danny Chin, director of alumni and parent equity and inclusion programs and Nate Menifield, equity and inclusion program manager, led a workshop exploring the overlap and connections between musician Beyoncé and writer James Baldwin. The workshop explored how their respective works, by Black artists often exploring their relationships to the U.S., incorporated themes of love and anger as it pertained to seeking justice.

Making a Screen Print (or a Zine) and Discussing White Lotus

Cat Balco, professor of art and visual culture, and Michel Droge, visiting assistant professor of art and visual culture, along with a group of art and visual culture students, hosted a screenprinting workshop. Participants dropped in and created “Love, Anger, and the Struggle for Justice” themed T-shirts and tote bags.

The craftwork continued as MLK attendees gathered in Dana Hall for a zine-making session led by Jenna Dela Cruz Vendil ’03. Zines are DIY magazines or handouts created with the goal of spreading a message, often about politics, art, and the intersection of the two. Zine-making has had a recent resurgence but originally came from the punk and counter-culture movements of the late 20th century, when zines emerged as a way to easily spread and disseminate information. Eventually some made their way to newstands, but initially all distribution was DIY, with creators passing them out at political gatherings, during music shows, and on college campuses. Dela Cruz Vendil offers a way to express ideas “that you don’t see are being lifted up anywhere.”

During the workshop, attendees followed instructions on how to cut and fold pieces of paper to create their palm-sized zines. Then they cut up magazines and used colorful writing instruments to decorate their zines, which ranged from image-heavy artistic collages to text-focused explanations of societal problems.

“This is an opportunity for you as an individual,” Dela Cruz Vendil said. “Own your means of communication and share your ideas with whoever you want to give it to, whoever you want to leave it for.”

Charles Nero, Benjamin E. Mays ’20 Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies; Alison Melnick Dyer, associate professor of religious studies; Shay Campolongo ’26; and Matt Riseman ’26 also led a panel examining season three of television show The White Lotus. The panelists examined Buddhism as it appeared in the show and pertained to love, anger, and justice, with attention to portrayals of race and sexuality in the show.

A woman and child smile, holding a screen-printed tote bag. The black bag features a pink bird design with the words

At Bates College's MLK Day 2026 event, a speaker with short gray hair gestures while holding a microphone, addressing an audience.

Man speaks into microphone at Martin Luther King Jr. Day event at Bates College. A second person listens. Both are seated at a table with a red tablecloth.

Panel discussion at Bates College for MLK Day 2026. Four panelists sit at a table in front of an audience. A projection screen displays

Bates College MLK Day shows students at tables working on projects. Classroom setting with white walls, bright lighting, and two projector screens displaying text.

Students write at tables during Martin Luther King Jr. Day event at Bates College. Water bottles and supplies clutter white tables.

The Bell: Bill Jeter ’76

Surrounded by friends from the class of 1976 in addition to other curious participants, Bill Jeter ’76 talked about the Martin Bell, a 2013 multimedia piece he created to invoke the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The bell, which is housed in a white frame meant to evoke arched church windows over barred jail cells, will be at Bates through the summer.

Jeter’s talk covered the inspiration for the bell, his journey from likely psychology major to art major, then working artist, and his reflections on love and anger, and how he channels that into his work. He urged audience members to reach out to people they might disagree with.

“We're at a point where we’re all hands on deck and the more people who can advocate and articulate what it is we're facing and how we can address some of it, the better it's going to be,” Jeter said. “Go sit with somebody you don't know or talk to somebody you don't think that they're that great a person. … It’s amazing what you could find out.”

Jeter also had some words for current students. “I came back one year after I was done, so it’s been almost a half century since I’ve been here. … If you’re a student here, this is the best time in your life right now. So enjoy it and take advantage of it. The little tidbits you’re going to get from this experience? You’re going to carry those with you for the rest of your life.”

And then he rang the Martin Bell, which rang out boldly through the first floor of Ladd.

Reggie Harris and I'm Still Here

Musician and storyteller Reggie Harris wove together music, lessons from history, and parts of his own family story to educate audience members about the Civil Rights Movement and Black history in the U.S.

Harris grew up in Pennsylvania, but his mother’s side of the family hails from Virginia, where his maternal grandmother grew up on a former slave plantation, Hickory Hill. His grandparents left the South to escape Jim Crow laws. Harris’ family experience and his own experience growing up during the Civil Rights Movement propelled him toward his career as a musician and educator, traveling around the country to schools, community centers, and workplaces.

“The legacy of my people is one of love. It is one of perseverance. It is one of realizing that you are part of a larger whole and that you have responsibility in that part,” Harris said. “And no one probably typifies that more than Dr. Martin Luther King.”

At times Harris encouraged the audience to sing alongside him, reminding attendees of the central role that music played in helping enslaved people create a sense of community and culture.

“People from different regions of Africa found themselves in a country where they certainly didn't understand the language or the customs, and they had to observe, learn, and recreate, and recreate themselves, and become a people,” Harris said. “The songs that rose out of that experience really helped them.”

The afternoon programming also included a showing of Walter Salles’ 2024 film I’m Still Here, which tells the story of a woman who is forced to reinvent her life while caring for her family in Brazil after her husband, a political dissident, disappears during Brazil’s military dictatorship. Stephanie Pridgeon, associate professor of Hispanic studies, led a conversation about the film following the screening.

Workshops for all

Jenna Dela Cruz Vendil ’06 and Anthony Del Real, assistant director of LGBTQ+ programs with the Student Center for Belonging and Community, facilitated “‘Loving Your ‘Enemies’: A Solidarity Workshop for Allies.” Grounding in the teaching from MLK’s “Loving Your Enemies” sermon, the workshop invited participants to “reflect on allyship as a community responsibility,” encouraging attendees to look at allyship as a spectrum that takes into account intersectionality.

During another event, 10 students from Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School spoke during a panel on their school’s CARE team, a student organization that helps expose students and staff to diverse viewpoints and support school community members. Also present were Travis Palmer ’21, an OHCHS history teacher and CARE Team advisor, and Paul Bickford, OHCHS principal.

OHCHS has a unique makeup: it’s rural but large, with over 1,000 students hailing from eight different towns. The school offers traditional academic courses along with technical courses.

The CARE Team was established in response to an incident of racism at the school, the students said, which is predominantly white. Since the team’s creation four years ago, the group has organized workshops and speaking events to help educate their campus community on issues such as racism, LGBTQ+ rights, and disability rights. Their main event is an annual Respect Day, during which the school cancels traditional classes in favor of a day of programming featuring speakers from within and outside of the school community.

“I think the most impactful aspect of this group as an advisor is seeing these students engage with these really complicated, messy concepts with staff,” Palmer said. “Seeing them grow and use their agency and voice to promote change and really be leaders in our school community really just makes me proud to be an advisor.”

One of the most rewarding parts of working with the CARE team, the students said, is hearing from both staff and students the way that the team’s programming has taught them about things they were unfamiliar with and encouraged them to consider different perspectives.

Jamie Silvestri, program director and art therapist with ArtVan, Sam D’Onofrio, an expressive art assistant with ArtVan, also led a workshop exploring the venn diagram of love, anger, and justice through artistic collaging and writing practices.

Man speaks into a microphone at Bates College's MLK Day event. He wears a blue LA Dodgers baseball cap and a matching blue polo shirt. A screen is behind him.

Students create collages at a table during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day workshop at Bates College. The students are smiling and engaged in conversation. Glue sticks and images are scattered on the table.

Two students smile while crafting at a table during Martin Luther King Jr. Day workshops at Bates College, January 19, 2026. One cuts paper with scissors; the other holds a glue stick.

Collage workshop for MLK Day at Bates College. A hand adds paper pieces to a collage of Martin Luther King Jr. on a white table. Glue stick and other paper scraps are visible.

A workshop at Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Bates College, 2026. Students sit around a table, crafting with paper and markers. A woman looks up, holding a red pen.

The Rev. Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays Debate

Student debaters from Bates and Morehouse College in Atlanta took the stage in Olin Arts Center for The Rev. Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays Debate, held annually in honor of Mays, a 1920 Bates graduate, civil rights trailblazer, mentor to MLK, and president of Morehouse for nearly three decades.

To accompany this year’s MLK Day theme of “Love, Anger and the Struggle for Justice,” the debate topic was “Resolved: This house believes that social justice movements should practice a politics of anger.” This subject was chosen in response to MLK’s complicated appraisal of anger’s utility in the struggle for social change and justice.

Lauren Buisker, assistant professor of rhetoric, film, and screen studies and director of the Brooks Quimby Debate Council, introduced the teams; Tosca Neumann ’26 of Bates and Acie Abner ’28 of Morehouse paired up as to debate Tanvir Thamid ’26 of Bates and Junias Lunsford-Peaks ’28 of Morehouse, interrogating the place of anger and accountability in the fight for social justice and change.

This was Lunsford-Peaks’ second year traveling to Bates to participate in the Morehouse-Bates debate tradition, and he said he enjoyed revisiting friends he made the previous year and making new connections, all in the spirit of friendly debate.

“This year felt ethereal, like that of a homecoming,” Lunsford-Peaks said. “All in all, Bates provides a bonhomie experience for me each year.”

Audience listens to a panel discussion on stage at Bates College for MLK Day 2026. Many students have laptops open in the tiered seating.

A moment from Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Bates College: A smiling woman in glasses and a red blazer stands between two seated people.

BONDing time

Bates Open Network on Dialogue (BOND) — a new initiative focused on dialogue rather than debate — offered a space to process the day’s experiences. The workshop was facilitated by Nate Menifield, Bates equity and inclusion program manager and a member of the MLK planning committee. Participants were prompted to write down one question that felt unresolved following the day of programming. Each table then shared their lingering questions, which included “How can anger fuel social justice work?” and “Where does joy belong in the fight for equity?” The BOND guidelines are intended to bring about constructive dialogue and allow participants to forge connections and make space for listening to one another.

A Bates College student speaks at a table during Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2026. She wears a brown sweater and silver cross necklace.

Evening Programs

Evening programs bookend the MLK Day programming. On the evening before the keynote, Bates held an interfaith gathering in Gomes Chapel titled “‘On the High Plane of Dignity’: Interfaith Reflections on Human Dignity.” It included leaders and scholars from Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity. Speakers reflected on questions about the sources of human dignity in faith traditions and how such sources are reflected in faith practices, with music by the Middle Eastern Music Trio composed of Eric LaPerna (darbouka), Nathan Kolosko (oud), and Mary Hunter (violin).

Bates concluded its MLK Day programming with a series of presentations and musical performances in Olin Arts Center, with performers exploring the day’s themes and the Civil Rights giant’s legacy through words and music.

Footnotes

Produced by Bates Communications and Marketing with photography by Phyllis Graber Jensen, Theophil Syslo, and Carly Philpott '27 and text by Aly DeMarco, Meredith McCarroll, Mary Pols, and Ramona McNisih '28