Saturday, Jan. 31, the College of William and Mary hosted the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Summit to honor King’s enduring legacy. The Student Center for Inclusive Excellence and the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities welcomed Let Freedom Ring Foundation President Connie Matthews Harshaw as the event’s keynote speaker.
The summit featured multiple guest speakers and a variety of breakout conversation sessions, encouraging discussion.
Monique Williams, The Center for Inclusive Excellence’s director, spoke to the reasoning for the new approach.
“Historically, our campus has come together for reflection addresses, marches and community gatherings that invite us to pause and to remember,” Williams said. “It is my hope that we will carry this on this day with us, not just within this room, but outside of these walls and into our relationships, into our organizations and into our William and Mary community and beyond.”
The Ebony Expressions Gospel Choir, originally known as the Black Student Organization Choir, commenced the event with a hymn. Directed by professor Mark Helms, the group collaborated with The Center as part of its greater mission to foster spiritual revival through song.
Williams emphasized the importance of celebrating King.
“Dr. King understood something essential, that progress is rarely linear, and unity does not require uniformity,” she said. “What it does require is a commitment, a willingness to stay engaged, to remain accountable to one another and to move forward together, even when the work is difficult.”
Harshaw then took the stage to deliver the keynote address.
Harshaw began her public service career with the U.S. Navy at the Newport News Shipyard in 1972. After 30 years in the Senior Executive Service, she retired in 2004. Her final role was COO at the National Capital Planning Commission, where she served as the first Black SES member. Harshaw holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland.
“I understand that the focus on this subject is not to have you sit here and hear me, but to also call you to action,” Harshaw said. “Dr. King, his work, challenges all of us to move beyond words and into action that creates meaningful change.”
Harshaw said she was five years old when she first heard King preach, recounting the ways his message has impacted her life.
“That voice was a voice I heard over and over and over again. This voice was somehow distinct,” Harshaw said. “I knew that he was talking to me because he kept saying, ‘What are we gonna do?’”
Harshaw also reflected on the many ways she has seen former students advocate and lead after their time at the College. She delivered motivational remarks to attendees.
“The work that we’ve done here with William and Mary and the students, I don’t want you to think that there’s something you can’t do,” she said. “If you just know how to speak, and you don’t even have to put the nouns and the verbs in the right place, you just have to get an audience and be heard.”
Attendees were given a selection of seminar-style breakout panels to attend following the keynote address. Campus staff from the the School of Education, the Department of Civic and Community Engagement and Student Accountability and Restorative Practices led the sessions.
Nya Tefferi ’27, who attended “Building a Bigger Table: From Ally to Accomplice,” said she learned about the distinction between allies and accomplices and how to effectively expand organizations.
“I really appreciated the layout of the conversation,” Tefferi said. “That was really touching to see what ways work and what ways we should continue to grow on.”
Director of Hampton Roads Programs at the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities Meagan Starks concluded the afternoon with a plenary session, exploring how inclusive leadership practices foster belonging, strengthen community and support collaboration across differences.
Alexandra Krasilovsky ’27 reflected on her experience in the plenary session and her conversations.
“I definitely think that I can do some reframing of the way that I speak about issues or reframing of the way that I approach issues,” Krasilosky said. “Sometimes, it’s good to have that check within you that understands that not everyone is from the same background and not everyone is coming in with the same perspective.”
Harshaw left attendees with a message and question.
“I’m going to close with a powerful quote from Dr. King. ‘Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve, you don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve, you only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love,’” she said. “Whose life will you change, and how?”
