KENNEBUNK – The 19th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration will be offered via Zoom on Monday, Jan. 17, at 10 a.m. by First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Kennebunk.

The program features keynote speaker Dr. Chris Hunt and musician Corey L. Brown. Reservations are required and can be made at www.uukennebunk.org. The cost is $10 for adults, $20 for two or more adults viewing on one screen, and free for those 18 and younger.

Dr. Chris Hunt is keynote speaker for First Parish Church’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration. Hunt, a former associate provost at the University of New England, is vice president and dean for equity and inclusion at Moravian University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Courtesy image

Hunt recently served as an associate provost at the University of New England, but this year returned to his home state, Pennsylvania, where he is vice president and dean for equity and inclusion at Moravian University. In his talk, “Dr. King’s Legacy and the Evolution of Activism,” Hunt draws from his research and experience as an administrator of several colleges and universities.

Speaking with Philip Shelley of UNE Magazine, Hunt said, “… in the wake of [George Floyd’s] death and countless others, we must honor them by doing the hard, introspective work of making more just and equitable college campuses and society. … It feels like society — more so now than perhaps at other times in the past — is willing to be introspective and ask ourselves, collectively, some harder questions.”

In his dissertation, “When Millennials Meet Baby Boomers: Multiple Case Study on the Lived Experiences of Black Male College Students,” Hunt examined the intergenerational college journeys of 21 Black male college graduates from 1965 to 2018 including their challenges, triumphs and strategies to achieve excellence.

Hunt’s consulting work includes special engagements, climate studies and ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion training and development. He and his family live in Easton, Pennsylvania.

The Rev. Lara Campbell, minister of First Parish, will welcome all to the celebration and lead a question-and-answer segment at the end of the talk. The Social Justice Committee of the church has sponsored MLK celebrations every year from 2003 offering breakfast as well as music and talks. This is the second year the program will be presented online, but hopes are that the celebration will return to in-person next year.

This year’s program will benefit the Abyssinian Restoration Project in Portland. Recognized on the National Register of Historic Places, the Abyssinian Meeting House is being restored to acknowledge and promote the cultural heritage of African Americans in Maine.