Aurora’s 39th annual MLK ceremony asks ‘What Happens to a Dream Determined?’
In 1951, Langston Hughes asked the question, "What Happens to a Dream Deferred?"
In 2024, we ask, "What Happens to a Dream Determined?"
Join Aurora's 39th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Ceremony as we answer that question at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 15, at Calvary Church, 9S200 Route 59 in Naperville.
The ceremony will be a reflection on the life and legacy of Dr. King with youth performances, community awards, and special guest speakers, 17-year-old Ph.D. graduate Dr. Dorothy Jean Tillman II, DBH and award-winning actor Tyler Lepley.
After earning her bachelor’s degree from Excelsior College at age 12 and her master's degree from Unity College in Maine at age 14, Dorothy Jean Tillman II just completed her Ph.D. in integrated behavioral health from Arizona State University. Dorothy Jean is the founder and CEO of the Dorothyjeanius STEAM Leadership Institute in Chicago and Capetown, South Africa. She is determined to inspire youth and to provide pathways for the next generation.
Best known for his popular roles on Tyler Perry's “The Have and the Have Nots” on the Oprah Winfrey Network and in “Harlem” on Amazon Prime, Tyler Lepley attended Kutztown University on a football scholarship. With his professional football dreams deterred, Lepley graduated with a Criminal Justice degree. After being discovered in a Los Angeles gym, he found a new dream of acting, and the star is determined to make an impact on the industry and the world.
What happens to a dream determined? Join the annual program to find out and continue building upon the dream of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sign up via www.aurora-il.org/2562/MLK-DAY-2024.