Tamika Mallory, esteemed social justice leader and political activist, will deliver the 2022 address for Maryville University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration.

Mallory offers bold, inspiring ideas and strategies for creating social and political change, while rallying audiences to fight for human rights, civil rights, and equal rights for all.

Mallory is a next generation advocate for human rights, equal rights for women, health care, gun restrictions and ethical police conduct. In 2017, as co-chair of the Women’s March, she helped organize the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.

Hailed as a “leader of tomorrow” by Valerie Jarrett, then senior advisor to President Obama, Mallory has the gravitas of a long-time political organizer – she served as the National Action Network’s youngest executive director. Following the death of her son’s father to gun violence, Mallory advocated for stronger gun restrictions; later, she joined Vice President Joe Biden’s gun control task force.

A rising leader in the new wave of feminism, she empowers others to contribute their voice and engage in the political process to create change, while sharing her outspoken perspective on where the civil rights movement goes from here.

Mallory will speak on Thursday, January 20, 2022, at 6 p.m. The event will be held in a hybrid fashion. There will be limited seating available in the University Auditorium, with an overflow room in Myrtle E. and Earl E. Walker Hall 105 for viewing via Zoom. Masks must be worn indoors for this event regardless of vaccination status.

A book signing and reception will be held immediately following the program in the President’s Conference Center.