马丁·路德·金. 在CMU庆祝

International speaker and teacher Stephon Ferguson performed ‘I Have a Dream’ on the 56th anniversary of the speech

Seats were filled and emotions were high as Stephon Ferguson performed one of the most influential and important speeches in U.S. 历史. 弗格森周三演唱了《pp电子极速糖果》, 8月28日，在CMU的爱情演奏厅. 他是唯一一个获得金氏家族授权的人. 并在世界各地进行布道和演讲. 他的解释和朗诵 《pp电子极速糖果》 演讲导致眼泪, CMU的学生们起立鼓掌欢呼, 教师, 工作人员和社区成员. 

福斯特 欢迎与会嘉宾并介绍领导 within the local civil rights community including Grand 小君ction resident David Combs and pastor Amani Bullock who were also speakers for the evening. 

Prior to “I Have Dream,” CMU music theatre major Brooklyn Buhre sang an arrangement of 骄傲(以爱之名) alongside CMU student trustee Amara Hobbs and chair of the Black Student Alliance Brooklynn York who introduced 这首歌有特别的读法. The famous song composed by U2 was written about the assassination of Dr. 王. The song communicates the inability of tragedy to stop or diminish the message of universal love espoused by Dr. 并通过他的演讲传递给了全世界. 

“今晚我感觉很特别，”霍布斯说. “就像我们是比我们任何人都大的东西的一部分, 以及社区与奥巴马先生的共同努力. 弗格森，我们尽了自己的一份力量让事情变得更好. It was an emotional experience for me and I was honored to share it with Brooklynn and my fellow students.” 

约克赞同霍布斯的观点，并说“霍布斯博士的精神”. 金今晚真的和我们在CMU.” 

就在56年前，马丁·路德·金. 发表了美国历史上最重要的演讲之一.S. 当他说出“我有一个梦想”这句话时.” Dr. 王’s speech changed the course of a nation by advancing civil rights though language, 哲学和灵性，而不是暴力. Prior to Ferguson’s keynote address he met with students and shared some of Dr. 国王的教义. 

“我扮演博士的天赋和才能. 王 is less of a profession and more of a calling,” said Ferguson during his campus visit. 如果不记住梦，梦就会被遗忘. 王 is my way of making sure future generations remember his dream of equality by hearing his words of hope.” 

Nita Mosby Tyler is a civil rights leader in Colorado who not only works closely with CMU but is also familiar with the work of Ferguson and applauded his visit to Colorado. 

“Mr. 弗格森的表现和传达的信息令人难忘。. “The event marks a continuation of a conversation I had with President 福斯特 last year about the hard work CMU is doing to bring awareness to civil rights, 公民自由和平等的权利,莫斯比-泰勒说. 

The university extended complementary tickets to the community as part of the CMU Civic Forum. The Civic Forum is an initiative on campus committed to making engaging speakers, 校园和社区可用的主题和机构. 论坛将涵盖历史等话题, 公民参与, 个人自由, 社会平等, 社会正义和时事. 

除了社区成员, the CMU Volleyball Team attended as a team and occupied the entire front row of the recital hall. Their seating position was meant to demonstrate unity and to establish a theme for their upcoming season. 

CMU Head Volleyball Coach Dave Flemming watched the event from several rows behind and expressed pride in his team. 

“This is a group of student-athletes who see privilege in being able to play volleyball and want to use that platform to promote the very values that have made athletics possible for women today,弗莱明说。. “有时我们会忘记. 王’s teaching were not just about race but about equality which also includes women. While I am always proud of how they conduct themselves in the classroom and on the court, I was even more proud of how they are putting themselves forward tonight in the community CMU.”

Team captain Katie Scherr said that their "picture [taken with Ferguson] will remind them to stay grounded as they move forward in their education journeys.” 

除了团队, dozens of children and community members waited in line to speak with Ferguson after his speech as he signed autographs and counseled students on how to make a difference in the world.

CMU副校长约翰·马歇尔主持了会议 现场问答环节 following the keynote speech which resulted in audience applause on a number of occasions. The applause occurred as Ferguson imparted the values, ideas and 历史 behind 国王的教义. 

“What was remarkable about this event was that many people from many political dispositions gathered and celebrated the desire for civility — which is a value we all have in common. I believe that is a large part of what we must encourage at universities today,” said John Marshall. 

出席会议的还有《pp电子极速糖果》的前编辑 大枢纽哨兵日报鲍勃·西尔伯纳格尔. Silbernagel initially proposed the CMU Civic Forum in 2018 in a letter to 福斯特 and was pleased to see the initial idea expand to include events like the MLK celebration. 

“它真的很强大. One can only imagine what it was like to be in a crowd of a million people and hear Dr. 金发表了最初的演讲，”西尔伯纳格尔在活动结束后说. 

Ferguson has traveled the world reciting 王’s speeches and sermons for more than 10 years. He works at the 王 Center and maintains a close relationship with the 王 family, which he also spoke about during the post event question and answer session. 

Prior to the speech Associate Professor of Music Kristen Yeon-Ji Yun, DMA, performed 拉近神圣的圆圈 作者:Adolphus Hailstork. The cello composition was selected by Yun and will be included in her upcoming CD that will include a number of works composed by African American artists.