Strength to Love, Courage to Act!

Welcome and Guest Arrival

Jamoke Academy Drumline 

JAH Drumline presentation

Directed by Isaac Monts

Welcome

Jiyanna Cruz ‘28, Nursing Major, University of Hartford, College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions

Kaiden Ulysse ‘30, Music Education, University of Hartford, The Hartt School

“Lift Every Voice and Sing”

Written by: James Weldon Johnson

Remarks

Lawerence P. Ward
President, University of Hartford

2026 MLK Beloved Community Awards

Presented by:

Llonia Rojan Jackson, ’94, Director, Inclusive Excellence & Belonging

Kayon Morgan, Vice President, Inclusive Excellence & Belonging 

Lawrence P. Ward, President, University of Hartford 

Artist Presentation

Amaya Skinner ‘29, Studio Art, Hartford Art School

Keynote Address | Q&A 

Jay Williams

President and CEO, Greater Hartford Gives Foundation

A Charge to the Community!

Message delivered by Kaiden Ulysse ‘30 

"We Shall Overcome”

Written by: Charles Albert Tindley

For the past ten years, Nigel Manhertz has volunteered weekly at churches throughout Greater Hartford, preparing and serving meals to individuals experiencing homelessness. He shows up without fail, often early, always willing to help, and consistently offering kindness to those in need.

Nigel also volunteers weekly with the Goal Mentor Program, an urban teen mentoring initiative in Hartford, where he serves as a positive role model for young people facing challenging environments. His sustained commitment, reliability, and genuine compassion have made a tangible difference in the lives of Hartford's most vulnerable residents.

Keyokah Mars-Garrick is an educator, coach, and cultural advocate whose work reflects Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of the Beloved Community. A proud citizen of the Narragansett Tribe, she actively preserves and shares Indigenous culture while supporting her sister tribes through community gatherings, dance, and tradition.

Keyokah earned her B.A. (2012) and M.B.A. (2016) from the University of Hartford and her M.Ed. from UConn. She currently serves as a high school special education teacher and head girls' basketball coach, ensuring students feel seen, capable, and supported. She regularly visits schools and community spaces to share Indigenous perspectives through storytelling, traditional regalia, and the sacred significance of the drum. An active member of UHart's Amplifying Indigenous Voices Affinity Network, Keyokah demonstrates that Indigenous peoples are vital, present contributors to the community.

Marcus Thomas serves as Associate Dean for Academic Innovation and Professor of Music Management at The Hartt School. He teaches Pre-Law, Entertainment Law, Artist Management, and Music Publishing, and serves as pre-law advisor for The Hartt School and Hartford Art School.

Prof. Thomas is the former director and current faculty lead for the Success Team for Readiness, Improvement, Development, and Excellence (STRIDE), demonstrating his commitment to student success. His 27 years of industry experience as an entertainment attorney, artist manager, and music publisher—including positions at LaFace Records, Dallas Austin Recording Projects, and Alfred Publishing—brings real-world expertise into the classroom, equipping students with practical knowledge for their professional futures.

Dina Morris Lyga serves as Director of The Women's Advancement Initiative, where she designs programming, leads partnership development, and manages scholarships. The most meaningful part of her role involves co-facilitating LEAD sessions, mentoring students, faculty, and staff, and providing resilience coaching—helping women discover their strengths and elevate their voices.

A proud UHart alumna, Dina earned her B.S. in Business Administration (2004) and her M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology with a focus in trauma studies from Cambridge College (2017), equipping her to provide trauma-informed support to veterans and others. In her community, she serves on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Women's Council and volunteers with Mercy Housing, Interval House, Chrysalis Center, and Give Kids the World. She is also UHart's community representative for the American Council on Education Women's Network (Connecticut Chapter).

Jada is a senior Biology major with minors in Psychology and Neuroscience who is striving to combine naturopathic and allopathic medicine. She plans to become a pediatrician while continuing her work as a community organizer to integrate holistic approaches to community healing.

Since age 17, Jada has worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant. On campus, she has served as a two-time Village Senior Resident Assistant and currently serves as University of Hartford NAACP President. She has also interned with Levo International, leading bio-agricultural research using hydroponic technology to find affordable, healthier options for growing food in areas without fertile land.

Throughout all her roles, Jada advocates passionately for human rights by meeting people where they are and providing resources for their mental, physical, and spiritual growth.

The Anatomy Club is an educational organization dedicated to exploring human anatomy while promoting inclusive participation and diversity across all identities. Through hands-on learning and scholarly engagement, the club fosters curiosity, critical thinking, and professional development in health sciences.

The club has hosted multiple regional events, including scientific tours and seminars that extend beyond campus. Currently, 15 active members are supported by a five-member executive board and faculty advisor Dr. Gengyun Le-Chan. The Anatomy Club exemplifies student-led academic excellence and community building.

King’s travels to Connecticut emphasized the plight of black people in America; while traveling he had to sit in “colored” train cars until he reached Washington, D.C. where he was finally able to switch seats. This experience would be his first lived experience without segregation. While in Simsbury, King wrote letters home about his experiences in the North stating, “On the way here we saw things I never anticipated to see. After we passed Washington, there was no discrimination at all. … We go to any place we want to and sit anywhere we want to.”

A memorial to King is located in Simsbury and the tobacco farm land where he worked is protected space. King would later visit Simsbury for a second time before finishing college. He received his Bachelor of Art degree from Morehouse College, a historically black, men’s liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1948. King would later receive his doctorate degree in systemic theology from Boston University. His time in Connecticut as well as his religious and educational upbringing influenced his journey to becoming an activist and influential figure in the American Civil Rights Movement.

King first became involved in the Civil Rights Movement through the Montgomery bus boycotts of 1955. These boycotts were a mass protest that arose from the arrest of Rosa Parks and concluded after over a year with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling it unconstitutional to have segregation on public buses. Prior to the bus boycotts, King was a member of the executive committee of the NAACP, preparing him for his involvement in the boycotts and many more movements. He would later lead many notable protests and marches including his famous August 28, 1963, March on Washington where he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Through his work, King raised awareness around civil rights, social injustice, and economic inequality throughout the nation.

In 1964, King accepted the Nobel Peace Prize “for his non-violent struggle for civil rights for the Afro-American population,” presented by Gunnar Jahn, chairman of the Nobel Committee. In his acceptance speech, he noted the racial injustices occurring in the United States and accepted the award on behalf of the Civil Rights Movement. At this time, King became the youngest person to accept this honor. On December 11, 1964, King delivered his Nobel Lecture titled “The Quest for Peace and Justice.” A transcript of this lecture can be found on the Nobel Prize organization’s website.

King’s work brought him to the University of Hartford in 1959 when Hillyer College invited him to deliver one of the lectures in the University’s Alexander S. Keller Memorial Fund Lecture series at Bushnell Memorial Hall. King delivered one of his speeches, “The Future of Integration,” which spoke on the historical and societal barriers to racial integration. The Keller Lectures’ press releases, transcripts, and recordings including Q&A sessions are newly digitized and available for researchers to use in the University’s Harrison Libraries.

As heard on a recording of the 1959 speech, King tells the Hartford audience, “…What we need (is) a committed liberalism - one where individuals stand up on basic principles and give themselves to the right side of this issue realizing that right is right and wrong is wrong and never the twain shall meet. This is something we must do."

Many renowned civil rights events followed King’s speech in Hartford including non-violent lunch counter sit-ins, school desegregation cases, freedom riders who took bus trips to the south to protest segregated restrooms and lunch counters, the March on Washington, and the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. In July 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law with King in attendance.

In honor and rememberence of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the University of Hartford hosts its annual observance program.

• The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories
• Students Unveil a Monument to Civil Right Icon M.L. King in Simsbury
• Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Simsbury
• MLK Remembered His Time in Simsbury Fondly
• Dr. King Speaks on "The Future of Integration" at The Bushnell in 1959