Jan. 22, 2010

The advice is straightforward – take Martin Luther King Jr.'s teachings and make them relevant to your life.

That's the message Joe Rogers will bring to his audience during his "Dream Alive" presentation at 7 p.m., Feb. 24 at California State University, Monterey Bay. The talk will be held in the Black Box Cabaret, located behind the Campus Health Center on Inter-Garrison Road and Gen. Jim Moore Boulevard. The event is free and open to the public.

Rogers, a former lieutenant governor of Colorado and a practicing attorney in that state, has told interviewers that he gives these presentations to take Dr. King's message out of the history books and make it relevant to people's pursuit of their dreams and values.

" ‘Dream Alive' is the story of America – past, present and future – told through the life, memory and legacy of Dr. King," Rogers has said. "My commentary gives people an explanation of how we as a nation worked through the issues of slavery and segregation.

"It's not only about race, it's also about economics, education and leadership," Rogers told a reporter at a recent appearance at Ohio University.

During his presentation, he will deliver portions of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" and "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speeches in a voice that has been described as sounding uncannily like the slain civil rights leader's own. It's a unique blend of history, storytelling, theater and motivational speaking.

Rogers earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Colorado State University and a law degree from Arizona State.

While serving as Colorado's lieutenant governor, he led efforts to improve the lives of the state's children and the quality of its schools and worked to enhance job and economic opportunities within the state. Since leaving office, he has served on the seven-memver blue ribbon National Commission on the Voting Rights Act.

Driving directions and a campus map are available at csumb.edu/map.

Black History Month events are produced by the Associated Students' Cultural Enrichment Committee. For more information, contact Associated Students adviser Ajamu Lamumba at 582-3698.