Plaque honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. unveiled at SMU

DALLAS - The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. was honored on the SMU campus.

A plaque was unveiled Tuesday outside McFarlin Auditorium, where Dr. King spoke in 1966. 

"His speech balanced hope with reality and called for a continuing passionate and unrelating work to racial justice," said SMU President R. Gerald Turner.

In 1966, Dr. King was invited by the SMU student senate. He spoke to a crowd of about 2,000 during a time when the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act had just passed. 

Tuesday's event was to unveil a Texas state historical marker recognizing King’s speech. The actual marker is at the foot of the steps before you enter McFarlin Auditorium. 

SMU to unveil historical marker where Dr. Martin Luther King delivered speech

Two students who led the effort to bring a historical marker spoke at the event. 

"Without the passion of the students 50 years ago, we would not be here today," said student Carson Dudick.

"I always love to highlight that this invitation for Dr. King to speak at McFarlin was by students, mostly because these were students who recognized their voice in a world where we were told to be silent," said student Sparrow Caldwell.

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Dr. King’s speech was about if there had been progress in 1966, SMU Board of Trustees Member and Pastor Richie Butler says that question 57 years ago still rings true today. 

"We have come a long way, but there is still a ways to go," he said. "We all need to be asking this question: What am I doing to advance race relations?"

Two of the students who actually were on stage with Dr. King were in attendance. The family member of the student who actually wrote the letter inviting Dr. King was also there.