Keeping the dream alive

By KELLY FOSNESS, Gazette Writer

HOUGHTON - Several hundred students, faculty and visitors on the campus of Michigan Tech University gained inspiration Thursday night during a powerful, charismatic performance by a nationally-recognized individual who has dedicated much time and effort to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Joe Rogers, former Colorado lieutenant governor and current [practicing] attorney, is devoted to keeping Dr. King’s "Dream Alive" among individuals from every walk of life.

Rogers spoke on behalf of King’s work and legacy at the Michigan Tech University Rozsa Center, delivering the historic "I Have a Dream" speech.

Many who attended Thursday night said felt as though they were standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that sweltering day in August 1963 when Dr. King addressed thousands of civil rights demonstrators.

"I’ve never heard it (the ’I Have a Dream’ speech) before until tonight, like everyone else, and having lived long enough to have heard Martin Luther King speak in person, I thought I was hearing him all over again," said Betty Chavis, director of Outreach and Multiethnic Programs and director of Educational Opportunities.

"It almost brought tears to my eyes," she said. "I can’t even explain how I felt ... and I’ve heard that from several people that it (the presentation) was just remarkable."

Rogers said the "Dream Alive" program was created while he was a senior in college in 1986 when asked to deliver the "I Have a Dream" speech during a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial service on campus April 4, the anniversary of King’s assassination.

Rogers was hesitant at first, saying he was unfamiliar with the entirety of the original speech.

After hearing live recordings of King speaking, he was intrigued and agreed to perform for the 1,000 students who gathered on campus for a candlelight vigil.

Rogers said following his speech held at a nearby church, the room fell silent, a reaction he hadn’t expected.

As he modestly returned to his seat, the crowd applauded him with a standing ovation.

It was at that moment that he said he felt something remarkable inside of him.
"I had the strangest, burning sensation that I have never had since that time or up to that time," he said. "The next day, there were written accounts of what had happened the night before, which had essentially led us to creating the ’Dream Alive’ program. The good Lord has given us the ability to help share Dr. King’s words in a way that is new and compelling for people and our purpose is to extend King’s dreams in a new way beyond simply the legal changes. This is now about the hearts of men and women throughout our country to really experience the assessments of what King has to say because wisdom, just as truth, is timeless which surpasses the ages.

"That’s why (what) King said then was relevant then, and it’s relevant today, not just on issues related to race, but to the substance of who we are."

Many who were there to hear the compassion in his voice, said they were touched in a way they had not anticipated.

"He’s a nurturer, if you will, and being an attorney and former lieutenant governor of Colorado, you wouldn’t expect it," Chavis said. "I couldn’t believe that what I was hearing was coming out of that man. He’s just charismatic and I’m so very pleased that we had the chance to bring him here to Michigan Tech."

Others felt the same.

"He was very down to earth and very intelligent," Tenisha Isom, fourth year clinical lab science pre-med major at MTU said, adding that she had the opportunity to sit with Rogers during a student leadership dinner earlier that evening. "It was a great program and truly an honor to have met him."

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