Actress, director, and activist Erika Alexander will headline the 2025 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium Keynote Memorial Lecture on January 20. Her 90-minute moderated conversation is set for 9:30 a.m. at Hill Auditorium and will be live-streamed. The event highlights Alexander’s involvement in civil rights discussions, resonating with the annual symposium’s theme, “Restless Dissatisfaction: An Urgent Call for the Pursuit of Justice and Equality.”
The symposium pays tribute to Dr. King’s legacy, inspired by his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize speech and his 1967 address at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In these, King urged a “divine discontent” to fight unmet goals and inequity. Tabbye Chavous, chief diversity officer, stated, “Restless dissatisfaction encourages us to confront injustice in all its forms, racial, economic and social, and compels us to close the gap between the world as it is and the world as it should be.”
Known for roles like Maxine Shaw in “Living Single” and Detective Latoya in “Get Out,” Alexander has received two NAACP Image Awards. She co-directed “The Big Payback,” and co-produced the Emmy-nominated documentary “John Lewis: Good Trouble.” Brendan Kirwin noted, “Erika Alexander embodies the restless dissatisfaction that Dr. King championed,” emphasizing her advocacy for diverse media representation and involvement with organizations like the NAACP.
The lecture is co-sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, with support from the William K. McInally Memorial Lecture Fund. Additional campus events will promote the theme of “restless dissatisfaction.” Departments interested in featuring their events on the symposium’s website can submit information online.
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