By Adam Studzinski

BLOOMINGTON – A speaker at Monday’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Teach-in event on Illinois Wesleyan University’s campus wanted students to think more about the work King did after his famous “I have a dream” speech.

David Stovall, a African-American studies professor at University of Illinois-Chicago, said many people don’t know much about King past 1963.

“Really kind of thinking about those last five years of his life as a transformative moment when he started to look at the world through a different lens, but also keeping constant with his fight for justice,” he said.

Stovall explained this message is important for college students to hear because “change largely occurs on the backs of young folks and women.”

“So when we look at any movement for justice in the world, those two groups are always present,” said Stovall. “So if we think about college students in that equation of young folks and women, then this population becomes critically important in any movement towards justice.”

Stovall added King’s commitment to transformation is a major reason he is still such an important icon in American history and also the reason his lessons will “stand the test of time.”

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].