MLK Student Leadership Conference
Introduction
The UIC Martin Luther King Jr. Student Leadership Conference is a large in-person leadership event on campus! Attendees will be able to hear from keynote speakers; select from a variety of workshops led by faculty, staff, and peers; and network with others in the UIC Community. Be inspired by the legacy of MLK Jr. while learning, connecting, and growing with fellow campus leaders. Let’s dream, lead, and create change—together!
This year’s theme is RESTORING HOPE, RECLAIMING JUSTICE. We are super excited to have Kuumba Lynx founders Jaquanda Villegas and Jacinda Bullie join us as our keynote speaker!
We want to thank all our Co-Sponsors who are making this event possible! UIC Black Cultural Center, the African American Academic Network, the Jane Addams Hull House Museum, the Rigo Padilla-Pérez Undocumented Student Resource Center, Khaos Creative Collective, WeDesi, UIC Student Engagement, the UIC Library, and the Urban Public Policy Fellowship Program.
Don’t wait—register now!
Keynote Speaker
Kuumba Lynx
Join us for our 2026 MLK Student Leadership Conference keynote with Kuumba Lynx founders Jacinda Bullie and Jaquanda Villegas. Kuumba Lynx (KL) was founded in 1996, by three Chicago creatives, Jaquanda Saulter, Leyda Lady Sol Garcia, and Jacinda Bullie.
KL has since grown into a collective of leaders committed to activating both brave and transformative spaces that inspire joy, justice and liberation through creative changemaking. KL uses Hip Hop art and culture to cultivate strong communities built on a foundation of love.
They engage in collective arts-based healing toward reimagining and practicing a more just world.
Session 1: (1:00 PM- 1:45 PM)
Victoria Boateng
Victoria Boateng, Founder, Victoria Djembe Academy
Victoria Boateng is an autism advocate. Victoria was diagnosed with autism when she was three years old and couldn’t speak until she was 7 years old. Victoria uses her gift of djembe to inspire the autism community and women of all races, gender, and creed. Victoria is the founder of Victoria Djembe Academy, and her mission is to provide a safe and inclusive space for people with disabilities to be seen, heard, and valued through African drumming. She is a substitute teacher at Old Town School of Folk Music and drum teacher at Ruth Page Center for the Arts. She is also an apprentice performer/drummer in an all-female drum and dance company Ayodele Drum and Dance, She Wolf Sacred Movement, and a drum facilitator for Sista Afya Community Care.
Khaos Print Pop-Up
Fatima Jones, Co- Founder, Khaos Creative Collective
Khaos Creative Collective hosts a print workshop. Participants will be able to customize unique prints to take home. Empowering creative expression through the fusion of fashion and creative arts, Khaos Creative Collective strives to cultivate a vibrant community on campus that celebrates diversity, innovation, and self-expression.
They aim to inspire individuals to explore the intersection of fashion and art, fostering collaboration, sustainability, and cultural exchange.
Hull House, Nadia Maragha
Nadia Maragha, Education Manager, Hull House
The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum collection is made up of more than 5,500 artifacts relating to the vibrant work of the Hull-House Settlement and the surrounding neighborhood.
Highlights include: intricate textiles woven in the Hull-House Labor Museum, pottery produced by artists at the Hull-House Kilns, artifacts from Maxwell Street market, portraits and drawings of neighbors and settlement life by Hull-House residents, and more! Participants will have the opportunity to touch and handle artifacts included in the Hull House’s touch collection, learn about the history of radical crafting at Hull House, and they will have the opportunity to radically craft and knit winter accessories for our unhoused neighbors.
Session 2: (2 :00 PM – 2 :45 PM)
Rethinking Who Is At-Risk
Dr. Mia Garcia-Hills, Director, UIC Student Veteran Affairs
This presentation explores the experiences of eight Latina college students who bravely navigate the “borderlands” of higher education. Framed by LatCrit theory and Chicana Feminist thought, research findings are a declaration of resistance and a blueprint for “restoring hope” in historically exclusionary spaces.
Utilizing an anti-racist, life-affirming approach called Testimonio—a methodology rooted in shared storytelling—students will deconstruct internalized barriers and learn strategies for building a powerful sense of comunidad (community). Through honest conversation (charlas) and shared stories (testimonios), participants will work to transform feelings of loneliness and struggle into collective agency and courage.
Banned Bok Club Reads MLK
Jennifer M. Jackson, Assistant Professor, UIC Library Undergraduate Engagement Program
Join us for a special rendition of Banned Book Club with the University Library! We will be reading Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech to hundreds of thousands of people at Soldier Field on July 10, 1966. He addresses the Chicago Freedom Festival, envisioning a more just Chicago. It is the mission of the UIC Library Undergraduate Engagement Program (UEP) to empower undergraduate students to discover, use and create knowledge while fostering an academic environment that reflects their experiences and identities.
Healing Circles Practice
Heather A.Hathaway Miranda, M.A., Founder, Hathaway Miranda LLC
This workshop aims to facilitate trust and build authentic relationships that bridge cultural divides created by real and perceived differences. Grounded in Indigenous storytelling practices, community circles promote empathetic listening, reflection, and the humanization of all people. This workshop will include group interactions and intimate conversations between two participants.
Heather Ana Hathaway Miranda, M.A., is an award winning international bilingual, bicultural Chicana speaker, published author, scholar-activist, and founder of Hathaway Miranda LLC.
Session 3: (3:00 PM - 3:45 PM)
Migra Watch & Supporting Undocumented Peers
Rigo Padilla-Pérez Undocumented Student Resource Center
All students, staff, and faculty are welcomed to join this Migra Watch Training with UIC’s Rigo Padilla-Pérez Undocumented Student Resource Center. This training will prepare community members to safely monitor and document ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) activities, support impacted peers, and connect individuals with legal or crisis resource.
Expressions of Hope: Reclaiming Our Vision
Salena Peebles, Program Assistant, African American Academic Network
This session invites students to explore what hope looks like for them through collective open expression. Participants will be a part of creating a banner using words, symbols, and drawings that represent hope, healing, and justice in their lives and communities. The African American Academic Network promotes success and high impact engagement for students of African descent through comprehensive advising, developmental programming, student advocacy and structured learning experiences within an inclusive community.
Closing: (4:00 PM- 4:50 PM)
Urban Public Policy Fellowship Program (4:00 PM- 4:20 PM)
Urban Public Policy Fellowship Program,
Join us in the Illinois Room for refreshments and pastries. During this time, UPPF Student Researchers will be stationed in the space with individual table presentations about their academic research capstones. Learn from the students about their unique internship and research experiences.
The Urban Public Policy Fellowship program is a leadership development program designed to expose historically underrepresented minority undergraduate students at the University of Illinois at Chicago to key public policy issues. The program provides Fellows with weekly seminars offering a solid introduction to theory and practice in the areas of public policymaking, advocacy, community development, and service provision along with a valuable internship experience.