Dating back to 1986, Matthew Steward developed the Steward Speakers Series to connect national figures to the Indianapolis community.

The first speaker Steward worked with for his speakers series in November of 1986 was comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory. Steward worked with Indianapolis civic and business leaders to build the Steward Speaker Series into the longest-running speaker series in Indiana.    

Promising “More than just talk,” Steward says each speaker must do more than just fly into Indianapolis, give a 60-minute talk, and then leave. Each speaker in the series must agree to hold an evening lecture, promote the event with local media, and speak to local students.

When reflecting on the series, Steward says, “The impact has been tremendous!” Speakers over the years have included Magic Johnson and Dr. Mae Jemison. The speaker for this year’s event is football superstar Deion “Prime” Sanders. The current coach of the University of Colorado football team will visit Indianapolis on Thursday, April 11th. The event will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium. It will include a dinner and ceremony honoring Indianapolis sports legends such as Anthony Calhoun, Tamika Catchings, Rick Fusion, and Jimmie Mcmillan.