ATLANTA — Morehouse College announced that Magana J. Kabugi, Ph.D., has been selected for induction into the Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars at the 40th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers and Laity ceremonies. The induction will take place during the Benjamin Elijah Mays Crown Forum on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, at 11 a.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel in Atlanta.
Honorees, said founding dean Dr. Lawrence E. Carter Sr., are those who “have demonstrated and are evolving toward great achievement” and who hold “a profound commitment to their community and society” — embodying intellectual excellence, moral leadership and service aligned with Dr. King’s nonviolence and social justice.
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Past honorees associated with these ceremonies include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, the Rev. Bernice A. King and the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. Recent selections reflect the program’s breadth across academia and public life, with inductees ranging from university leaders to scholar-activists recognized for service to humanity and the kind of moral, cosmopolitan leadership central to the chapel’s mission.
Dr. Kabugi, an assistant professor of English at the University of North Carolina, has made notable contributions to African American literature. His selection reflects his scholarship, commitment to inclusive education and ongoing work to foster dialogue and civic engagement on and beyond campus.
His teaching and research focus on the intellectual and cultural histories of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Black literary and cultural studies, and children’s literature and comics/graphic novels. He is also a contributing writer to The New Brownies Book (Chronicle Books, 2023), which won the 2024 NAACP Image Award for Best Work of Non-Fiction Literature.
Founded in 1867, Morehouse College is a private, historically Black liberal arts college for men in Atlanta. The Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel serves as a hub for interfaith engagement, nonviolent social change and transformative scholarship.
