On Jan. 31, the University of Connecticut’s Jorgensen Center hosted an event organized by the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in partnership with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Living Legacy Convocation.
Themed around Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy as an activist, leader and educator, the event featured an awards ceremony and a gospel concert performance from UConn’s Voices of Freedom choir and Grammy Award-nominated artist Todd Dulaney.
Director of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives, Jonelle Reynolds, opened the ceremony and introduced the awards, which included students, faculty and alumni as recipients.
Anne D’Alleva, the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, spoke on the importance of the award: “2025 Living Legacy Awardees led with courage and strengthen communities through service.”
Awardees include Andy Zhang, Adanma Akoma, Dr. Kate Capshaw, Alexis Monteiro and alum N. Chineye (Chi) Anako. Additional rewards were given to the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resouces’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Strategic Vision Committee, and Nelson Merchan.
Among those distributing awards were Nathan Fuerst, the vice president for student life and enrollment, and Alicia McKenzie, director of the African American Cultural Center. Following the award ceremony, a citation followed with state Senator Julie Kushner.
Spoken word poet Nadia Sims followed and gave a performance of a poem themed around “reclaiming my slice.” The recurring emphasis on the line, “I dream so hard I can’t sleep,” echoed the work of King during his “I Have a Dream” speech given in 1963.
Next, Rev. Lisa Clayton, director of the UConn Voices of Freedom choir, first gave a solo performance alongside an accompanying organist before returning with the choir. Made up of around 80 singers, with 40 performing at the Jorgensen, the choir performed several gospel hymns, including stand-out performances with choruses refraining, “Because God is the greatest power, we shall never be defeated.”
The choir performance led to a standing ovation, with student soloists performing exceptionally. Following the choir was Dulaney.
A Grammy-nominated gospel recording artist, Dulaney has had several releases enter the top 10 of the Billboard Gospel Airplay charts since 2017. Recently, Dulaney has worked on starting a virtual music production company called Dulaneyland Music.
Dulaney performed several songs, including “Your Great Name,” “Victory Belongs To Jesus” and “The Anthem.” Partway through the performance, Dulaney was joined by the Voices of Freedom Choir. The students soloed and joined in seamlessly with Dulaney’s backing band and accompanying vocalists, and Dulaney often gave the microphone to student soloists, leading to many standing ovations.
Following songs with Voices of Freedom, Dulaney finished his set with two songs and a powerful moment of prayer. He called everyone who was comfortable to assemble near the bottom of the stage and pray for peace, strength and empowerment, all recalling the goals of King through his life of activism. As D’Alleva noted in her opening remarks, King’s activism often stemmed from religious spaces like the simple “Church basement.”
Dulaney’s performance ended with a powerful message centered on community, faith and hope.
Following the performance, Rev. Clayton shared her thoughts on the performance and the role each performer played: “I thought our students shined; the spoken word was great and of course I thought the choir was amazing — I am the director.”
Clayton also was thankful: “Jonelle Reynolds and Rod Rock here at Jorgensen and I were meeting and kind of put our heads together and got Todd to come, and Jonelle and her team took it away with awards.”
“And so, just to have this event on the campus, to celebrate the legacy and the life of Martin Luther King Jr. is amazing. You can tell by just the reaction of the audience, that it was so meaningful for everyone.”
Choir soloist and member of the Lisa Clayton singers, Ronald Campbell, commented on the feeling of singing in a choir, “It’s inviting others in as I give back to the Father. Anytime I have that opportunity I just run with it.”
The performance was elevated by the recognition of King’s activism and legacy. “Martin Luther King was an activist and advocate who was also Christian, and able to combine the two beautifully,” Campbell said.
Reynolds shared that the goal of the event revolved around UConn’s community, and the lasting positive impacts that activism can have. “We do this convocation annually, and this is the second year of the awards,” Reynolds said.
The goal is simple according to Reynolds: “To bring joy and to be in community with folks, and to celebrate those who are doing work.”