A full week of impactful initiatives at SUNY Fredonia will honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
A keynote address by the superintendent of Buffalo Public Schools, a tribute to Dr. King’s vision presented by students through music, dance, poetry and performance, four alumni spotlight/fireside chats, a community day of service and high school student creativity awards will commemorate the week the campus will observe Monday, Jan. 27, through Saturday, Feb. 1.
“The 2024 inaugural calendar of events was a tremendous success,” Chief of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Vicki T. Sapp said of last year’s programming. “The Martin Luther King Jr. Presidential Commission is excited to bring forth a powerful and meaningful week of events,” added Dr. Sapp, who co-chairs the commission with Vice President for Student Affairs Tracy Stenger.
Events are free and open to students, faculty, staff and community members.
Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent Tonja Williams Knight, a leading voice in education, will deliver the keynote in the Juliet J. Rosch Recital Hall on Friday at 4:30 p.m. “What would Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. say in 2025?” is the theme of her address.
“This question is resounding, and it is multilayered because in some ways we have come far over these 61 years and in some ways, we know that the dream for equity and equality for all continues to be, just that…still just a dream,” Dr. Knight commented. King would be proud of these moments in which messages promoting active engagement are shared, she added.
Knight has professional and administrative certifications as well as degrees in executive leadership and business administration. Over a 32-year career in Buffalo Public Schools, Knight has served as a director of guidance and counseling, school principal, assistant superintendent, associate superintendent, interim superintendent and, since 2022, superintendent. She is a recipient of a Harvard University School Leader Turnaround Certificate.
Her doctoral dissertation work on African American students and the college application process was chosen as the “Most Scholarly Dissertation” by her graduating doctoral cohort.
SUNY Fredonia’s African Drumming Ensemble will also perform. “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the Black national anthem, will be sung by Esther Duclair, a senior Music Performance major with a concentration in Voice, of West Babylon, NY. She will be accompanied by School of Music Assistant Professor Jiyong Kim Mai.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Presidential Commission is excited to bring forth a powerful and meaningful week of events.” - Dr. Vicki T. Sapp
The Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts Chamber Choir will sing “Song for Justice,” conducted by Jennie Billera, a music educator in Buffalo Public Schools. Joining the choir in a second selection will be students enrolled in MUED 391: Elementary School Choral Rehearsal Techniques in singing “The Dream Keeper,” dedicated to the memory of King. School of Music Visiting Instructor Travis Gratteau-Zinnel will conduct, and Assistant Professor Mai will accompany on the piano.
The top three area high school students who are recipients of cash prizes in the Days of Education Creativity Contest will also be recognized.
A reception in Mason Hall Room 1080 will follow the program.
“Raising Our Voices to Share His Dream,” a student celebration of King’s vision through music, dance, poetry and performance, will be presented on Tuesday, 4 p.m. in the Williams Center Multipurpose Room. Featured student performing clubs include a cappella group Premium Blend, singing “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” Rince: Fredonia Irish Dance, presenting “Countless Cathleen,” and Orchesis dance with, “Treat People with Kindness.” SUNY Fredonia’s African Drumming Ensemble will also perform.
Nyles Emile, president of the Black Student Union and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chair of the Performing Arts Company, will read “Color Stride Along Side Me,” a poem he wrote. He is a senior majoring in Acting from Springfield Gardens, NY.
Recipients of the 2025 Keeper of Dream Scholarships will be announced and invited to offer their own reflections. Rosa Parks Scholarship information will also be presented.
Student Association President Dakota Richter, a senior Biology major with a minor in Communication, from Silver Creek, NY, will issue a serve and learn challenge.
A large-group photo of attendees with a banner featuring King with his famous quote “I have a dream that…” will also be taken on the stage.
“The concept aligned with the banner is to provoke attendees to reflect on their lives and the contributions that they made or plan to make to positively impact or influence the world today,” Sapp explained. “They are invited to write down what would be their dream to complete the famous Dr. M.L.K. Jr. ‘I have a Dream’ speech.”
Four alumni will reflect on their SUNY Fredonia experiences and how the life and legacy of King impacted them in their personal life and throughout their careers in separate fireside chats. Additionally, each will offer three takeaways/nuggets they have learned if they had known, as students at SUNY Fredonia, what they know now in their adult life what they would do differently.
All four alumni fireside chats will be held in the Williams Center Blue Lounge.
Michael Tuccio, a social studies teacher in the Jamestown City School System, will lead the inaugural fireside chat session on Monday, from noon to 1:30 p.m. “Michael believes every student deserves the opportunities to persevere and that we need to take care of a student's mental health as well as their physical health,” Sapp noted.
Tuccio received a B.A. in Adolescence Education: Social Studies in 2000 and a M.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2005.
Jillian Hanesworth, founder/owner of Literacy Freedom, will give the second fireside chat on Tuesday, from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
An Emmy-winning spoken word artist, poet laureate emeritus of Buffalo, NY, and community activist, Ms. Hanesworth travels the world to perform poetry and speaks on topics that include art for activism, the impacts of storytelling and the importance of honest and critical social and political conversations.
Hanesworth oversees Buffalo Books, a nationally recognized program whose goal is to help increase literacy races in communities of color on the east side of Buffalo by improving access to culturally relevant books.
Hanesworth received a B.A. degree in Criminal Justice in 2014.
Jennie Billera, a music educator in Buffalo Public Schools, will give the third fireside chat on Wednesday, from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Ms. Billera prides herself on being an advocate of urban education and a strong proponent for the inclusion and education of all students, and she consistently works to ensure that her students have equitable learning experiences and opportunities in her classroom.
Billera received a Mus.B. in Music Education from SUNY Fredonia in 2016, a M.S. in Inclusive Childhood Education from Nazareth College and a post-master’s certificate in Global and International Education from Northcentral University. She is currently enrolled in SUNY Fredonia’s online Advanced Certificate in Educational Leadership program and is also a doctoral candidate in the Learning and Teaching in Social Contexts program at the State University at Buffalo.
Nikkie Herman, director of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice education department at the University of Rochester, will give the final fireside chat on Thursday, from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
Ms. Herman, whose career in student affairs in higher education spans more than 20 years, teaches the ACUE course on fostering a culture of belonging and co-facilitates her department’s White Affinity Group that encourages critical self-reflection on race, identity and systematic issues, fostering a supportive environment for growth and dialogue.
Herman received a B.A. degree in Secondary Education: English in 1998.
On Saturday, students, faculty and staff will be invited to join local non-profit organizations – Chautauqua County Rural Ministry, Habitat for Humanity, Lakeshore Humane Society, Salvation Army and Prevention Works – to facilitate volunteerism.
“We are dedicated to supporting local organizations and SUNY Fredonia to come together to celebrate this remarkable event through giving back to the campus and local community. We hope this will be a start of forever friendships,” Director of Campus Life Mark Suida said.
More information on the week’s programs is available on SUNY Fredonia’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Presidential Commission webpage.
For more information about the Day of Service email Mark Suida Mark.Suida@fredonia.edu
The week’s events were organized by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Presidential Commission with sponsorship by the Carnahan Jackson Fund for the Humanities and the Collingwood Endowment Funds, both through the Fredonia College Foundation, and the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation.
