Colgate University’s 17th annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Week, Jan. 23–Feb. 1, kicked off with a keynote address by Wanjiku “Wawa” Gatheru, a Rhodes Scholar and environmental justice activist. The event, organized by the ALANA Cultural Center and the Office of the Dean of the College, set the tone for a week of reflection, engagement, and exploration of the theme Shaping Equitable Communities and Sustainable, Just Environments.
Gatheru, the founder of Black Girl Environmentalist (BGE), has spent the last decade advocating at the intersection of equity and sustainability. Her work highlights the disproportionate impact of climate change on communities of color and women.
In her keynote speech, Gatheru spoke to the principles of justice, action, and inclusivity that King championed. “Her leadership and vision have set the tone for 10 days of action, reflection, and community building,” said Esther Rosbrook, director of the ALANA Cultural Center. The evening concluded with a jazz performance from Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister Mark Shiner, Assistant Professor of Music Brian Stark, and jazz piano teacher Richard Montalbano.
The following day, Gatheru led an Environmental Studies Brown Bag discussion, engaging a packed room of students, faculty, and staff in a conversation about systemic inequalities and environmental challenges.
She emphasized the need for greater representation in the climate movement, explaining, “The climate crisis isn’t just an ecological issue — it’s also a leadership crisis, a narrative crisis, and a crisis of connection.” Gatheru pointed out that while people of color make up nearly 40% of the U.S. population, they account for only 12–16% of the green workforce. Even more concerning, she noted, is that Black women have the lowest retention rate of any demographic in this space.
Gatheru shared the story behind BGE, an organization she founded in 2020 after hosting a Zoom call where more than 100 Black women environmentalists came together to share their experiences. “That was the birth of the idea for BGE,” she recalled. “I realized there were actually a lot of us, and we needed a space to connect and thrive.”
Throughout her Brown Bag talk, Gatheru stressed the importance of community in addressing burnout and overcoming systemic barriers in the environmental sector. “Burnout is an issue in all social impact fields, but when you add racial disparities on top of that, it’s easy to see why Black women leave these spaces so often,” she explained. “That’s why community is crucial — community care is the answer.”
Gatheru challenged attendees to reflect on what it truly means to shape equitable communities and sustainable, just environments. “It means placing people at the center of the climate movement. It means acknowledging that environmental justice is social justice.” She encouraged students to recognize their role in the movement and to understand that their voices matter.
She left the audience with a thought-provoking question: What’s something giving you hope today? Her own answer: solar grazing — a practice where sheep help maintain vegetation in solar farms, benefiting both agriculture and renewable energy. “Solutions come from unexpected places when people just start talking,” she said, urging students to engage in environmental justice work with new energy, curiosity, and collaboration.
The MLK Week Celebration continued with more events designed to engage the Colgate community in meaningful dialogue and action. These included gatherings like an interfaith dinner and dialogue and a Sense of Belonging Listening Session, a special Jummah service focused on King’s legacy, and mindfulness sessions to honor his teachings on peace and justice.
One highlight was the Day of Service, where volunteers partnered with organizations in Utica to honor King’s vision of community action. Colgate community members came together to work on local service projects through Cornerstone Church and Hope Chapel.
To conclude the week, Colgate hosted the fourth annual Social Justice Summit, led by student leaders from the New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium. This daylong series of workshops helps students to explore the intersection of social justice and sustainability and provides them with the tools to create positive change in their communities.
“The 2025 MLK Celebration is all about action and impact,” says Rosbrook. “With sustainability at the heart of our 10-day series, together we are shaping equitable communities and fostering sustainable environments — not just for today but for our future.”