On January 15th, 1990, Dr. Asa G. Hilliard, III served as the keynote speaker for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Hilliard begins speaking at the 00:10:30 time mark after an introduction by Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Richard Benjamin. In Dr. Hilliard's speech, he calls Martin Luther King, Jr., a "hero of struggle" and points out that Dr. King was not the first person of African descent to resist oppression. Hilliard stresses the importance of knowing one's history, and he discusses African American related historical topics, including human origins, Ancient Egypt, Marcus Garvey, and resistance movements in the Caribbean.
