MLK Jr. Vigil to Feature Little Rock Nine Member Minnijean Brown Trickey

The Distinguished Lectures Committee and the Associated Student Government invite the campus and community to attend the 2026 Martin Luther King Jr. Vigil on Jan. 19, 2026, at the Faulkner Performing Arts Center. Doors will open at 11:30 a.m.

The vigil will feature a moderated Q&A with Minnijean Brown Trickey, a member of the Little Rock Nine and a lifelong advocate for civil rights, nonviolence and social justice. In 1957, Brown Trickey was one of nine African American students who courageously desegregated Little Rock Central High School under federal protection, becoming a pivotal figure in the American civil rights movement.

Beyond her historic role, Brown Trickey has built a distinguished career as a social worker, educator, writer and international speaker. She has taught social work at Carleton University and community colleges in Canada, served as deputy assistant secretary for workforce diversity in the Clinton Administration at the U.S. Department of the Interior and was the Shipley Visiting Writer for Heritage Studies at Arkansas State University. For more than two decades, she has worked as a nonviolence and antiracism facilitator for Sojourn to the Past, an immersive history program for high school students.

Brown Trickey has received numerous honors for her commitment to racial justice and community leadership, including the NAACP Spingarn Medal and the Congressional Gold Medal as part of the Little Rock Nine, as well as lifetime achievement awards in the United States and Canada. Her life and work are also the subject of the acclaimed documentary Journey to Little Rock: The Untold Story of Minnijean Brown Trickey, and her personal artifacts are preserved in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
The vigil will also include musical performances by the U of A Inspirational Chorale, directed by Dr. Jeffery Murdock, and remarks from Chancellor Robinson. Together, the program will honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through reflection, dialogue and a shared commitment to justice, reconciliation and peace.