#TBT: Rev. Al Sharpton speaks at CMU to honor Martin Luther King Jr. in 2005
Civil Rights Activist Al Sharpton was the keynote speaker during MLK Week in 2005. At the time, Sharpton urged faculty and students to push for more diversity on campus through outreach and open dialogue.
“The real message of Martin Luther King is that we must be tough enough to stand up and deal with things that make us uncomfortable,” Sharpton said.
In 2005, Central Michigan University was 4.5 percent people of color and 85 percent white. Since then the percentage has nearly doubled to 9 percent on campus.
This year, the university hired its first Chief Diversity Officer A.T. Miller.
