Maybe what's impressive about Gregory Reed is that he was an MSU student on April 4, 1968, the day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

Or it could be that he was Rosa Parks' attorney and has written 12 books.

But there's also his collection of never-before-seen artifacts from the civil rights movement, including unreleased chapters of "The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley."

Reed unveiled that collection to the public for the first time Monday at the Union during a student leadership conference commemorating King.

"I wanted to work with MSU to bring a greater sense to students and their family members of the value of this collection," the Detroit attorney said.

The collection, "The Journey: The Mother, The Movement, The King and Now," includes artifacts from various civil rights leaders, including a photograph of King with Malcolm X — men with radically different views on how to achieve equality.

Reed has collected artifacts and documents from the civil rights movement since the age of 12. But what started as a small hobby has turned into a passion for history.

"When you have your history, you have a sense and direction of where you are going," Reed said during a speech at the conference closing. "These are things that need to be told."

"It was so important that he came," said Tiana Hall, the conference's chairwoman and president of the Martin Luther King Jr. section of the Student Activities Board.

"He knows the culture of MSU because he was a student here. He is someone who can speak to our vision."

Reed not only highlighted the importance of collecting historical artifacts, but also touched on the present and future battle for civil rights, focusing on what he calls the "Four Ws of Life."

"You should know who you are in terms of a sense of direction and esteem," Reed said.

"You need to know where you are in terms of your life, where you've been and the journey that you've traveled and where you're going."

During Reed's own journey, he met civil rights icon Rosa Parks. In 1990, she came to his office to ask him to represent her as her attorney.

"She was laboring in pain for so many years to give birth to a movement," he said. "When she was arrested, her water broke."

He said that it was his obligation to represent her.

In his closing speech, Reed called on students to stand up and engage in the continuing struggle for equality and justice.

"You may have heard that knowledge is power," he said. "But something is missing. The applic ation of knowledge is power. That has been my biggest secret. I've learned to apply myself from those who have given me so much."

Reed wrapped up his speech with a call-response to his audience, asking members to respond with "one world" every time he said the words "I can see."

"He was engaging us," Hall said. "It reminded me of how people spoke during the civil rights era."

For many, the speech was an intense closing to the conference.

"We need to be as active as King was," said Marcella Richardson, a member of the King section of the Student Activities Board. "We can't ride on the shoulders of Dr. King."

Kammy Selley, the convention secretary, said the fight for civil rights seems to have lost some enthusiasm.

"When he talked about current segregation and its assimilation into today's atmosphere, it showed how we need to take initiative as a people, get involved in political issues and keep the legacy of King alive," she said.