Celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Friday, January 14 at 11 a.m. at the Rhoades Conference Center. There, Funmilola Fagbamila will present "Your Greatest Version Awaits You." Funmilola is an award-winning playwright, artist, scholar and founding member of Black Lives Matter.

In her presentation, she explains the necessary steps to create your most authentic and courageous self. By pulling from her greatest challenges and life lessons — from touring her one-woman stage play internationally to working as a political consultant for the president of France — Fagbamila addresses the key tools to:

• 1) step into your power in unfamiliar and intimidating spaces
• 2) engage in healthy and effective group-centered leadership
• 3) prioritize personal health for sustained well-being.

Following the presentation, there will be a grab-and-go lunch for those who attend in person.

To join us virtually, please use this link.

About Funmilola Fagbamila

Funmilola Fagbamila (Pronunciation: Foo-mee-loh-luh Fog-buh-mee-luh) is a Nigerian-American playwright, actress and scholar. Her internationally touring stage play "The Intersection: Woke Black Folk" has been met with critical acclaim by thinkers and artists such as Angela Davis and Erykah Badu. This production explores the complexities of Black political identity and is a story about how humans navigate difference. It premiered to sold-out houses at both the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles (as the featured theatrical production) and the Skirball Cultural Center. "The Intersection" has been staged in venues and universities across the U.S., England, France, the Netherlands and Brazil.

Funmilola serves as professor of Pan African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. As an original organizer of the Black Lives Matter national network, Funmilola contributed to the organization's inception in 2013 and served as the Arts and Culture director in LA for years following.

In 2015, Funmilola was honored by the United States Congress and the Black Community, Clergy and Labor Alliance for her commendable activist scholarship and service. In 2017, Prof. Fagbamila was awarded the Inaugural Activist-in-Residence position at the Institute on Inequality and Democracy at UCLA Luskin.  And in 2018, Amplify Africa and the US Congress honored Funmilola once more with the African Excellence award in the field of education.

Funmilola's viral poem "Black Girl Fly" has been viewed online more than 4 million times and in 2021 the TNT network collaborated with Funmilola on a national feature of this piece. Her writing, creative productions and social commentary have been featured in publications such as the Guardian, BBC, NPR, NOW THIS news, Blavity, FOXtv and Netlflix.

In 2017 Cal State/LA hosted a public dialogue between Funmilola and the Ooni of Ife, traditional ruler of the largest African kingdom — Yoruba kingdom Ile-Ife. In 2018, Funmilola and Nigerian presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore participated in a public dialogue on the state of affairs in Nigeria and the African diaspora. And in 2020 Funmilola traveled to Paris at the request of the president of France, to offer her consultation in France' plan to address the country's colonial history with African nations. This came to fruition after the president, Emmanuel Macron, had viewed Funmilola's social commentary and political analysis in the popular French publication, Le Monde.

Funmilola has delivered keynote addresses, lectures and performances at universities across the U.S. and Europe. Some of the venues include UCLA School of Law, Oxford University, Stanford and Harvard