The commemorative speaker this year is Alicia Garza, an established social activist who co-created the viral Twitter hashtag and movement #BlackLivesMatter.

Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel

“Outraged by the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Garza took to social media to express her anguish and love for the black community. Ending her message with Our Lives Matter/We Matter/Black Lives Matter, Garza—together with co-creators Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors—turned those powerful last words into a Twitter hashtag. Immediately prompting activism nationwide, #BlackLivesMatter has evolved into the banner under which this generation’s civil rights movement marches.

Currently the special projects director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Garza previously served as executive director of People Organized to Win Employment Rights, where she led the charge on significant initiatives, including organizing against the chronic police violence in black neighborhoods.

Empowering and enlightening, Garza serves as a beacon for individuals and organizations across the country fighting against the plague of social injustice, and galvanizes citizens to organize and stand together to transform society into a world where the lives and contributions of all individuals are recognized equally.”

(Excerpted from news article by Shannon Andre; to read more about Garza and the lecture, click here)

(For the rest of Syracuse University’s Black History Month schedule, click here)