RICHMOND, Va. – Martin Luther King III spoke at Virginia Commonwealth University Sunday for Martin Luther King Celebration Week , which was rescheduled because of winter weather last month.

The theme of the event, which was moderated by Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, was “50 Years Later: Don’t Sleep on the Dream.”

King III, who is the oldest son of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, spoke about how he plans to carry on his father's legacy.

“We as a society have not learned non-violence,” King III said. “We must learn non-violence or we may face non-existence. When we look at the discourse and the dialogue that exists today, we are not on the trajectory that make us better. We are better than the behavior we are exhibiting as a nation. We can we must and we will do better.”

This year marks 50 years since the civil rights icon was assassinated on April 4, 1968.