Hundreds of Colorado State University students, faculty and Fort Collins community members gathered to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday at the Lory Student Center.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed on the third Monday of January, honoring the life and legacy of the American civil rights leader who championed racial equality, nonviolent protest and social justice until his assassination in 1968.

CSU partnered with a number of organizations to put on the celebration, including the City of Fort Collins, Front Range Community College, the BIPOC Alliance, Poudre Libraries, Poudre School District and Larimer County.

In the past, MLK Day at CSU featured an outdoor march, but it was cancelled due to severe weather the previous two years. This year, organizers opted to forgo the march and focus on indoor, family-friendly activities.

To kick off the celebration, attendees enjoyed a performance from New Bloodline, a youth hip-hop group that came together at the Cultural Enrichment Center of Fort Collins, a center for African American middle and high school students to engage with music, art and culture. 

“I think it’s a misnomer that people can’t make an impact where they are. Where you are is where you can make it.” –Ray Black, CSU African American studies associate professor

After the performance, Rickey Frierson, the assistant vice president for strategic student success initiatives within the Office for Inclusive Excellence, gave the introduction. Frierson spoke on the legacy that King left behind and the importance of remembering him.

“Dr. King challenged us to see one another not as strangers, but as neighbors, bound together by shared hopes for dignity, opportunity and understanding,” Frierson said. “And it is in such times as these today that we face that we need more to remember the legacy and the words of Dr. King.” 

The theme of this year’s celebration was Mission Possible II, which Frierson said reflects the event’s focus on strengthening community and collaboration. 

“Community is not something that happens by accident,” Frierson said. “It is built through intentional listening, through shared spaces and through the courage to see one another fully, even when it’s uncomfortable or challenging.” 

Frierson then introduced local leaders in attendance, including Mayor Emily Francis, CSU President Amy Parsons, Front Range Community College President Colleen Simpson and Larimer County Board of Commissioners Chair Jody Shadduck-McNally, along with other members of the commission. 

Each speaker took turns reading clauses from the City of Fort Collins and the Larimer County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Observation and Commemoration Day proclamation, a joint proclamation adopted on Jan. 20, 2025, honoring Dr. King’s life and ongoing call for unity in the face of adversity.

Attendees were then free to explore a variety of engagement activities for dialogue and reflection, including a mobile library, a historic preservation pop-up exhibit, a literacy room and a collaborative mural project.

Ray Black, an associate professor of African American studies, spoke to attendees in the literacy room about the power of storytelling and civil rights education. When asked about how Fort Collins residents can make an impact in advancing racial equality in a predominantly white city, he discouraged the idea that you can’t make an impact wherever you are. 

“I think it’s a misnomer that people can’t make an impact where they are,” Black said. “Where you are is where you can make it.” 

The event also included a service project for Homeward Alliance, where participants sorted donated clothing and prepared boxes for donation. Ali Raza, assistant director of involvement for the SLiCE Office at CSU, noted that days of service like this allow people to invest in their communities.

“People that are active, people that are involved, people that are engaged, they’re going to be the ones that are going to be the change-makers and the difference makers in this community,” Raza said. “We need everyone to play a part in our community.”

The event also encouraged attendees to see King’s impact beyond MLK Day and consider his role in the larger fight for racial equality and civil rights. John Miller IV, the director of the Black/African American Cultural Center at CSU, highlighted the need for collective action. 

“We take the name of Dr. King, but we more take his point: that we have to do this together, that we can’t do this alone, that we can’t celebrate him as a myth,” Miller said. “This was a man who did amazing things and was also a human, just like we are. So we need to be able to find our humanity in him but also to be challenged by his words and transactions.” 

Liz Pruessner, a Fort Collins resident in attendance at the celebration, further stressed the importance of continuing the fight for equal rights and social justice. 

“The work is not done,” Pruessner said. “We need to keep going and educate the younger generation because the onus is on each one of us to just move everyone forward, and it’s so important.”

Reach Claire VanDeventer at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.