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Tabatha L. Jones Jolivet—an abolitionist organizer, educator, minister and community-engaged, interdisciplinary scholar, whose work centers on the practice of examining “love, study and struggle” rooted in Black radical tradition and prophetic spirituality—will deliver the keynote address during the campus’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Convocation 2024. 

Jones Jolivet holds a doctoral degree in education from Claremont Graduate University and is an associate professor in the School of Behavioral and Applied Sciences at Azusa Pacific University, where she teaches doctoral-level courses on equity and social justice, leading change and research inquiry.

Tabatha L. Jones Jolivet

The theme of this year’s convocation is “from rest to revolution: Dr. King re-membered.” Jones Jolivet’s talk will help attendees construct an accurate historical understanding of King and the civil rights movement, apply King’s work and ministry to the contemporary context, and discuss how healing from intergenerational trauma is critical to actualizing King’s vision of a “beloved community.”

“I’m so pleased that Dr. Jones Jolivet will be sharing her message with CU �鶹ӰԺ as we recognize the enduring legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Chancellor Phil DiStefano. “I’m hopeful that her words will spur thoughtful reflection and connection across the campus community.”

The convocation will take place on Jan. 22 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the University Memorial Center Glenn Miller Ballroom and is free and open to all students, staff, faculty and �鶹ӰԺ community members. Sponsors include the Center for African and African American Studies (the CAAAS), the Leeds School of Business and the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

“Curating sacred space to pause and reflect on Dr. King’s legacy is critical to tapping into the ancestral rhythm of justice that is central to any movement toward justice and liberation,” said David Humphrey, associate vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion for CU �鶹ӰԺ.

“Dr. Jones Jolivet will contribute to our convocation with a presentation that will be enlightening, provide opportunities to connect with one another as a community, and wrestle with a question Dr. King posed more than 56 years ago that still echoes from eternity: Where do we go from here?” 

Sonia DeLuca Fernández, senior vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion, agreed the event would be “an important opportunity for the CU �鶹ӰԺ and broader �鶹ӰԺ communities to unite on campus to reconsider and revisit, honor and remember King’s life while examining how his legacy informs social justice discussions that take place in communities across the country today.”

Other speakers will include Donna Mejia, theater and dance professor and the inaugural chancellor’s scholar of health and wellness for the Rénee Crown Wellness Institute; Russell Moore, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs; and Reiland Rabaka, ethnic studies professor and founder and director of the CAAAS.

Speaker bio

Tabatha L. Jones Jolivet, PhD, (she/her) is an abolitionist organizer, educator, minister, community-engaged and interdisciplinary scholar whose praxis of “love, study and struggle” is rooted in Black radical tradition and prophetic spirituality. She holds a doctoral degree in education from Claremont Graduate University.

Jones Jolivet is an associate professor in the School of Behavioral and Applied Sciences at Azusa Pacific University, where she teaches doctoral-level courses on equity and social justice, leading change, and research inquiry. She specializes in the intersectional study of cultures and systems of domination; abolitionist and liberatory pedagogies; sacred resistance and social movements; and building life-affirming institutions and societies.