2026 MLK Convocation in Honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Exploring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s efforts to make the federal justice system live up to the promise of the Reconstructed Constitution, United States District Judge Carlton W. Reeves will discuss his personal and professional experiences within that system to suggest the consequences of — and the need to continue — Dr. King's efforts.

About the Speaker

United States District Judge Carlton W. Reeves, a native of Yazoo City, Mississippi, assumed office on December 30, 2010. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1989 and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Jackson State University in 1986.  Judge Reeves was previously a partner at Pigott Reeves Johnson & Minor, P.A., Chief of the Civil Division for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, an associate at Phelps Dunbar LLP, a staff attorney for the Supreme Court of Mississippi, and a law clerk for Justice Reuben V. Anderson of the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Judge Reeves is the Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission. The Commission establishes sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts, including guidelines to be consulted regarding the appropriate form and severity of punishment for offenders convicted of federal crimes.  

Judge Reeves is a former President of the Magnolia Bar Association and Magnolia Bar Foundation.  He has received many honors including the Magnolia Bar’s highest honor, the R. Jess Brown Award, the Mississippi Bar’s Curtis E. Coker Access to Justice Award, Hinds County Pro Bono Award, Brown, Young & Hall Award of the Jackson Branch NAACP,  Mississippi State University Department of Political Science & Public Administration and the Pre-Law Society Distinguished Jurist Award (2016), and the Distinguished Jurist of the Year (2014-15) by the Mississippi Association of Justice. In 2019, Judge Reeves received the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Law, the highest external honor bestowed by the University, and in 2024 Hunter College awarded him a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Judge Reeves and his (late) wife, Lora M. Reeves, have one daughter, Chanda. 

About Minnesota Law's MLK Convocation

The University of Minnesota Law School hosts the MLK Convocation in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy. View past MLK Convocation lectures.

We invite participants to explore Dr. King's speeches and writings on justice, which are archived digitally by The King Library and Archives at The King Center.