A captivated audience of faculty, staff and Springfield community members sat in a filled-to-capacity Weaver Chapel to hear accomplished writer Michael Eric Dyson present the keynote address during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Convocation, Jan. 15.

Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities and African American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Dyson discussed "Dr. King for the 21st Century."

"Dr. King had a dream, but he also entertained the nightmare," Dyson said, calling the camouflaging of the nation's past the 'United States of Amnesia.'"

Dyson's provocative thoughts about King's legacy also paralleled Wittenberg's recent discussion on "Poverty vs. Privilege in the Black Community," which included dialogue on his book, Is Bill Cosby Right?: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind? Though the civil rights era is seen as a race- based movement, Dyson reminded those in attendance of the socioeconomic problems.

"We need to come together and disabuse ourselves of differences," Dyson said. "You don't know what someone has just by seeing them."