31st Annual MLK Birthday Observance ”We Got Us: Health & Care Beyond Capitalism”

31st Annual MLK Birthday Observance ”We Got Us: Health & Care Beyond Capitalism” 
Featuring keynote remarks by Dr. Ricardo Nuila
Associate Professor of Medicine, Medical Ethics & Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine
Pay What You Can $5-25, general admission chair seating
Followed by reception & book signing of The People’s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine

In 1979, the Rothko Chapel started an annual MLK Birthday Observance to connect the contemporary implications of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy to the ongoing struggle for civil and human rights, captured through artist Barnett Newman’s sculpture Broken Obelisk (1968) on the Plaza dedicated to Dr. King. From 2024-2026, Rothko Chapel Public Programming focuses on health justice and equity, including conversations, performances, and meditations on community wellness. As we navigate a world that is increasingly violent, stressed, sick, isolated, and divided, we explore our unique responsibilities and skills to contribute to our collective physical and spiritual health. 

Dr. King emphasized that access to quality healthcare is a fundamental human right, and he demonstrated how systematized poverty and worker exploitation serve as governmental policies of disease and violence. This year’s program will explore the relationships between health accessibility and economic systems, noting barriers to care under capitalism, as well as creative community-based efforts offering collective health services outside of traditional models. Dr. Ricardo Nuila will provide a keynote address, followed by a panel conversation with Houston-based advocates for supporting broader health ecosystems beyond the medical industrial complex. 

About the presenters
Over his decade-long career as a practicing physician, Dr. Ricardo Nuila’s first-hand experiences have fueled his writing on health disparities, healthcare policy, and the interface between art and medicine. His stunning debut, The People’s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine, which details the stories of five Houstonians unable to access healthcare in his hometown of Houston, TX, was selected as a semi-finalist for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction and named one of the Best Books of 2023 by Amazon, the Kirkus Review, and the Washington Post.