Event to feature authors, celebrate anniversary of 'I Have a Dream' speech

Two celebrated authors will discuss their work during a free public event today to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. The event, called "Voices of the Dream," is sponsored by Wayne State University Law School's Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights, and will be held today from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium at the Law School, 471 W. Palmer, Detroit. The first speaker, Dr. Clarence B. Jones, is a former speechwriter and legal counsel to King. Jones will discuss and sign his latest book, "Behind the Dream: The Making of the Speech that Transformed a Nation." Jones began working with King in 1960, and stayed with him as an advisor and close friend throughout the remainder of King's life, helping him draft the "I Have a Dream" speech. The second speaker, Gregory Reed, earned his law degrees in 1974 and 1978 from Wayne Law. He is founder of the Keeper of the Word Foundation and a former attorney to Rosa Parks. He'll be signing copies of his new, award-winning book, "Obama Talks Back: Global Lessons - A Dialog with America's Young Leaders." The book features thousands of letters from students to President Obama, and his responses. Published: Tue, Jan 22, 2013