MIAMI -- Florida International University kicked off its weeklong celebration in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Friday.

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Famous neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson helped get the festivities going. He was the first doctor to perform a separation of Siamese twins joined at the back of the head.

Carson said leaders like King played a big role in his success.

"Whenever I do a craniotomy, I peel that skin back and I'm working on that brain, I can't tell what color they were," Carson said. "The fact of the matter is – isn't that what makes you who you really are?"

Carson was the keynote speaker to hundreds at the annual MLK Commemorative Breakfast at FIU.

He said King's message of equality remains relevant and inspiring.

"The most important thing for me is to recognize that I can't achieve any success and no one else can achieve any success unless we do it based on the people who preceded us," Carson said.

Students like Lance Dickson were not around during the civil rights movement, but said they understand King's vision and how it still impacts people today.

"It was more than just a dream for a certain race of people or a certain creed of people," Dickson said. "It was for an entire nation."

Students, as well as history-makers like Carson, agreed that King's message of the past will still have meaning in the future.

"Of course things have changed, they've changed tremendously," Carson said. "Does it mean they don't need to change further? No, it doesn't mean that at all. But we've seen the light. If we can take that light and multiply it we can begin to concentrate on the good and not the bad."