I Have A Dream: The Promissory Note

The Fifth Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium

Featuring Distinguished Speaker, Michael Eric Dyson,
author of sixteen books, including I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr. and, most recently, April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Death and How It Changed America.

The Institute's Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium, held annually on the MLK National Holiday, aims at examining the depth and breadth of Rev. King's achievement and legacy. Conducted on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day each year, this 5th annual Symposium on January 18, 2010 focused on one of the most pressing and relevant questions of our day: what does the election of President Barack Obama signify in terms of Rev. King's lifelong struggle to realize equality for all people in America?

In his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech before the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Dr. King said, "when the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir." This year's featured speaker, Michael Eric Dyson, examined the significance and implication of President Obama's election--what it means for all Americans in terms of both promise and obligation.

 

 

Left: Joanne Stroud, Rev. Marcia Dyson, Kurt Garrett, Brenda Spencer
Right: MLK Founders: John Castle, Larry Allums, Albert Black

We would like to thank all of our sponsors for making this program possible.

 

Presenting Sponsor

 

 

Mr. and Mrs. J. McDonald Williams o Mr. and Mrs. Albert C. Black, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. John R. Castle, Jr. o Office of Cultural Affairs
African American Museum o Central Dallas Ministries
E.K. Bailey Ministries, Inc.