MLK Day

Black Liberation in Higher Education TEACH-IN EVENT

Project Mission Statement: The MLK Racial Justice Campus Collaborative designs programming that celebrates the history and narratives of Portland’s Black community during and around Martin Luther King Day -- the only national holiday committed to a Black leader. The work of the Civil Rights Movement is far from over; we support community-based programming that centers ongoing narratives of Black activism, creativity, and liberation.

Acknowledging that our society’s institutions and systems are inherently white supremacist and anti-Black, how do we hold institutions accountable, and collectively dismantle systems of oppression and inequity? What does institutional accountability mean? Furthermore, how can we seek liberation through Black epistemologies and ways of being?

Our collective hopes to discover through this event key ways that higher education and students seeking a college education can be engaged in the fight for Black liberation. We hope Black students will discover mentors and friends who can support them as they navigate historically white institutions. We hope these conversations will spark deeper understanding for everyone involved on what they can do throughout the year to fight white supremacy and work towards Black liberation.

Our goal is to create a beloved community and
this will require a qualitative change in our souls
as well as a quantitative change in our lives.
-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

MLK Day 2022

History and Development

For years, Campus Compact of Oregon observed MLK Day through a day of service organized by a collaborative of Campus Compact of Oregon member campuses. In an effort to align the event more closely with our organizational values, we partnered with the Capstone program at Portland State University to evaluate the event and envision more intentional programming. You can view the final result of this partnership below. Thank you to Professor Kristen Teigen and the PSU students who helped us develop this framework with the guidance of Carmen Brewton Denison.

Community Partners