Denison University announced today the keynote speaker for its 2026 Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations is Hasan Kwame Jeffries, a historian who teaches, researches, and writes about the African American experience with a focus on historical understanding and civic engagement.
Jeffries’ keynote will conclude Denison’s MLK events at 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19, in Swasey Chapel. The college also will offer a series of workshops on topics related to the Denison 2026 MLK theme: Hidden Figures: Honoring past and present Civil Rights Leaders who moved MLK’s legacy forward. Both the lecture and workshops are free and open to the public. Visit denison.edu/campus/mlk/schedule-of-events to learn more.
Biology professor and MLK Committee co-chair Ayana Hinton said Jeffries’ experience as a historian and educator uniquely suits the theme, which honors little-known civil rights leaders from the past and present.
“Hasan Jeffries will help educate our community about the work and sacrifice of many unknown individuals who have made significant contributions to move MLK’s legacy forward,” she said.
Jeffries chronicled the civil rights movement in the 10-part Audible Originals series, Great Figures of the Civil Rights Movement. He regularly lends historical insight to national conversations about race and democracy, appearing in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, and his TEDx Talk, “Why We Must Confront the Painful Parts of U.S. History,” has been viewed more than 2 million times.
A passionate educator, Jeffries has long advocated for teaching what he calls “hard history.” This led him to edit Understanding and Teaching the Civil Rights Movement, a volume of essays offering strategies for teaching civil rights history with accuracy and honesty. He also hosted all four seasons of the podcast, Teaching Hard History, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Learning for Justice division.