DRIVEN BY THE DREAM: JAN. 20-24, 2025
Join members of the university and local community as we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with an extended week of events including panel discussions, performances, a keynote address, and more.
2025 Keynote: A Conversation with Dr. Mary Frances Berry
For more than four decades, Dr. Mary Frances Berry has been one of the most visible and
respected activists in the cause of civil rights, gender equality and social justice. Serving as
Chairperson of the US Civil Rights Commission, Dr. Berry led the charge for equal rights and
liberties for all Americans over the course of four Presidential administrations. A trailblazer for women and African-Americans alike, she also became the first woman of any race to head a major research university as Chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches the history of American law and the history of law and social policy.
2025 Moderator: Chuck Stokes
Chuck Stokes is the editorial/public affairs director for WXYZ-TV/Channel 7 in Detroit, Michigan. Additionally, he serves as moderator and producer of Spotlight on the News, Michigan’s longest-running weekly news and public affairs show created in 1965.
Before he became Channel 7’s editorial/public affairs director, Stokes worked as the station's executive producer of special projects in news. And prior to joining WXYZ-TV, Stokes was employed at WTVF-TV in Nashville, Tennessee, as a producer and on-air reporter. He has also been a sports writer for the Washington Post.
EMU gratefully acknowledges the generous support of this keynote address from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s King-Chavez-Parks Visiting Professor Program.
