Rothko Chapel

Today, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is celebrated for his 'dream' of a just America, but by the end of his career King was calling for a "radical reconstruction" of the United States. What compelled the transformation of King's ideas and what do they tell us about our society today? For the 2021 Annual MLK Birthday Celebration, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor engaged these questions in hopes of unlocking the ideas and strategies necessary to enact effective and lasting change in the United States. A Q&A session followed the lecture, moderated by Brandon Mack, community activist and lead organizer for Black Lives Matter: Houston. The Chapel started this important annual gathering in 1979 to connect the contemporary implications of Dr. King’s legacy to the ongoing struggle for civil and human rights, captured through artist Barnett Newman’s Broken Obelisk. This sculpture, located on the plaza adjacent to the Chapel, is dedicated to Dr. King. About the Presenter Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor is an Assistant Professor i