Lerone Bennett Jr., senior editor of Ebony magazine and renowned black history author, told a Memorial Union crowd Thursday that the still-unrealized dreams of Martin Luther King Jr. had great relevance for Iowans.

In a lecture in the nearly filled Sun Room of the Memorial Union, Bennett spoke passionately about freedom, peace, dignity and equality.

“It can be argued,” Bennett said, “and I’m here to argue it, that Martin Luther King Jr. freed more white men than black men — more white people than black people.”

Bennett addressed the attentive group in a loud, boisterous manner using explosive hand gestures that made one think of an enthusiastic and spirited pastor or professor.

“It’s not just about a man who made a great speech in Washington some 40 years ago — it’s about you, about me, here in Iowa. It’s about what we’re doing, and what were not doing,” he said.

Bennett said King’s dream didn’t nearly resemble today’s United States.

“We are not there yet,” Bennett said. “In fact, I will say we have lost ground in the last three years … we are not as close to the gold as we were four years ago.”

Bennett was a college friend of King’s at Morehouse College and worked with prominent black poet Langston Hughes.

He is the author of 11 books on various topics concerning black history, power and sociological issues, including “Forced into Glory: Abraham Lincoln’s White Dream” and “The Shaping of Black America.”

Bennett dedicated his life to spreading his and King’s message of civil equality. He has received such honors as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Black Journalists, the Patron Saints Award from the Society of Midland Authors and the Salute to Greatness Award from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change.

“Martin Luther King Jr. has become, in one of the strangest flip-flops in history, the measuring tape of the American soul,” Bennett said.

Mike Zitelman, senior in civil engineering, said he was glad he attended the lecture.

“I originally came because I get extra credit in my religion class, but I was very inspired,” he said. “We can’t just celebrate unity on Martin Luther King day. We all must try to unite for the rest of our lives.”