The UK Martin Luther King Center’s most recent Convo Series spotlighted Grammy-award-winning music executive Amir Windom, and rapper, record producer and activist David Banner.

White Hall room 106 was filled to capacity with a diverse group of UK students and Lexington natives. The speakers educated the audience on media, social injustices, hip-hop, the entertainment industry and much more. According to UK junior and MLK Center intern Destiny Witherspoon, the Convo series is meant to be an informal conversation and an opportunity for students to connect with guest speakers.

With Donald Trump winning President-elect a few days prior, the conversations were based on politics and race relations. While many students felt disheartened and discouraged by our recent election results, Banner and Windom’s raw and honest answers united the room. “President Obama gave us a vacation for 8 years, now we got back on the plane and went back to reality,” Windom said.

Banner educated students on the injustices and mistreatment of people of color. He also addressed white students in the crowd encouraging them to unite with their black counterparts. “If someone tells you that racism is on campus, believe them. Don’t deny it. It’s insensitive,” Banner said.

In addition to speaking on politics and race relations, Windom and Banner stressed the importance of following your dreams and of avoiding being “mediocre.”

They spoke to students about their personal journey’s and told students, “if you play the first 20 years of your life, you’ll live a slave the last sixty years of your life,” Banner said. 

While a majority of the discussion was geared toward Banner, Windom is no stranger to UK’s campus. He’s brought other large names here, such as Tatyana Ali and Malik Yoba.

If you want to find out more about the MLK Center’s upcoming events, you can follow them on social media at uk_mlkcenter or visit their website www.uky.edu/MLKC.