Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025
Bentley University

Join us in commemorating the life and enduring impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. as we come together as one Bentley community. This enriching day of learning is accessible to all members of our community and features the 39th annual MLK Breakfast followed by innovative learning sessions. All you need to do is create an account and download the Whova app. 

Then comes the hard part: choosing from dozens of tempting programs, special lunches and creative activities that will get you meeting new people, encountering new ideas and making the most out of this day of learning.
 

STEP ONE: 

Create an Account 

STEP TWO:

Download the App

After you create an account, download the app by either clicking on the button or scanning the QR code below to design your own personalized agenda.
 

Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025
8:30 - 10:30 a.m.
Faculty/Staff Dining Room

Make sure to register for our 39th annual MLK Breakfast featuring keynote speaker Shalini Kantayya. Her film "TikTok Boom" explores how this social media app became a flashpoint of a geopolitical controversy between the U.S. and China. In "Coded Bias" she reveals how an MIT researcher discovered that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces accurately. Her keynote address could not be more timely or relevant.

Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025
Collins Hall, Creative Corner
5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Session Leader: Mounia Ziat

At this family-friendly session, participants will help to create an art installation made up of 50 canvases, each representing a state and an activist who was born there. The completed work will form a collective map of the United States.

Session leader Mounia Ziat, associate professor, experience design, says “The idea for this project originated in late 2016, during a time of heightened polarization in America’s political landscape. Motivated by my deep interest in human rights and justice, I envisioned this project as a creative way to highlight the enduring struggles and triumphs of those who have fought for freedom and dignity across the country.” 

She partnered with Danielle Krcmar, director, visual arts, who was instrumental in significant task of determining the right canvas size for each state to accurately shape the map of the U.S. 

“I was very excited when I saw Mounia’s brilliant and thoughtful proposal for the project,” says Danielle. “I learned more about the depth of creativity present in our faculty – such as Mounia. I am excited about the project because it is a way to have conversations about activism both in the process of making and eventually displaying the artwork.” 

Volunteer Art Ambassadors wanted!

What you’ll do: 

• Choose an activist from this list (or suggest your own for the committee’s consideration). 
• No prior knowledge of the activist or the state is needed to participate meaningfully
• Prior to the session, research and write a short description your chosen activist’s contributions to social justice (see this example). 
• Volunteers are welcome to pick up their canvas ahead of time to begin their creative process, which is completely open

By blending artistic expression with historical and cultural education, this installation aims to inspire, educate, and engage viewers in reflecting on social justice and the ongoing pursuit of equality—core themes of the MLK Day event.​

Please sign up here and use your Bentley email in column E.
 
Questions? Email either Danielle Krcmar at dkrcmar@bentley.edu or Mounia Ziat at mziat@bentley.edu.

Indigenous Education & Sustainability 
Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025
12:15 -1:30 p.m.
Faculty/Staff Dining Room

Join the Indigenous Education Steering Committee and Office of Sustainability for a special luncheon celebrating Indigenous peoples' deep, ancestral knowledge of the land and commitment to food sovereignty. James Beard Award-winning Chef Sherry Pockett, owner of Sly Fox Den restaurant in Rhode Island and a member of the Wampanoag tribe, will be serving authentic Northeast Indigenous cuisine, including corncakes with cranberry apple chutney and three sisters rice, a dish named for its primary ingredients: corn, squash and beans, three different crops that nourish one another when planted together. By celebrating these dishes, we honor the past while supporting the sustainable future of Indigenous foodways. Seating is limited; registration required.