‘Black Panther,’ ‘Avengers’ Actor Delivers Keynote at MLK Celebration

Hollywood actor Winston Duke (left) discussed the night’s theme, “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community” with Oswego Prof. Mya Brown during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on campus.

The college’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Feb. 5 featured noteworthy actor Winston Duke as keynote speaker. He discussed the night’s theme, “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community.”

The conversation, moderated by Oswego Prof. Mya Brown, covered such issues as physical appearance and assumptions, access to opportunity and progress made since Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Duke recently made his feature film debut in the box-office smash Black Panther and can be seen in Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War. Duke played the fan-favorite character M’Baku, leader of the Jabari Tribe and quoted by Vanity Fair as “indelible” in the role. Duke also starred in the Jordan Peele horror movie Us.

Vanity Fair described him as “one of the industry’s most in-demand young actors, with multiple high-profile projects in various stages of development.” With his newfound fame, Duke is using his voice to advocate for inclusion and gender equity.

A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Duke received his bachelor of arts in theatre at the University at Buffalo and his master of fine arts at Yale School of Drama.

He headlined the celebration that also featured performances, musical numbers and readings by SUNY Oswego students.

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