Editor's note: This article has been updated with the symposium's website and information on attending.

“Be Oregon: Empowering our Beloved Community” is the theme of this year’s University of Oregon inaugural symposium to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

The event takes place over two days with a slate of events planned for Eugene as well as the university’s northeast Portland campus. It will mark the first time the UO has celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a two-day symposium.

The expanded agenda this year includes events Jan. 10-11 for the whole campus community and will highlight individuals across the university doing work that aligns with the values of Martin Luther King Jr.

“To me what’s most exciting about having a two-day event is to showcase both campuses and all we’re doing to celebrate, recalibrate and activate around the message of Dr. King,” said Lesley-Anne Pittard, assistant vice president for campus and community engagement.

The inspiration for this year’s event is a quote by King: “There is another element that must be present in our struggle that then makes our resistance and nonviolence truly meaningful. That element is reconciliation. Our ultimate end must be the creation of the beloved community.”

“We are making a connection to Dr. King’s words around reconciliation,” Pittard said about the goal of the symposium.

The two-day event gets underway at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10, with the Welcome and MLK Community Breakfast at the Ford Alumni Center. The day also includes a visit to the UO’s northeast Portland campus for those leading diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in their areas. 

The Associated Students of the University of Oregon will have a student-led event focusing on diversity action planning at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Erb Memorial Union’s Cedar and Spruce rooms.

Everyone also is welcome to an unstructured community-building event at 5 p.m. hosted by the Division of Equity and Inclusion in the meeting area at Bartolotti’s Pizza at the EMU.

The symposium continues Thursday, Jan. 11, with a land acknowledgement by Jason Younker, UO assistant vice president and adviser to the president on sovereignty and government to government relations, at the EMU amphitheater. It gets underway at 10:30 a.m. and includes a light breakfast provided by the UO Police Department.

“This provides us with an opportunity to understand what a land acknowledgement is and our responsibility as an institution of higher education on Native American land,” Pittard said.

Later Thursday, the campus community is invited to an MLK Spotlight Event featuring the BEOREGON program, which evolved from the IDEAL Framework, at 1:30 p.m. in the EMU’s Redwood Auditorium. Those planning to attend are encouraged to register in advance. The session will highlight the program, as well as recognize those on campus who have expanded their equity and inclusion efforts through their diversity action plans. The event will be available to watch via livestream.

Events at UO Portland will be held Wednesday and bring faculty and staff together from the Eugene and Portland campuses. 

Pittard said she aims to build off this year’s event going forward and wants future symposiums to highlight the range of efforts underway at colleges, schools and units working to make the university a welcoming place for all.

“This a reflection of our hard work and what we’re committed to as a campus community,” Pittard said. “We’re recommitting to King’s legacy, making sure our actions align with his values, making our connection to Dr. King’s words around reconciliation.”

The full schedule of events can be found on the symposium’s website.