Marian Wright Edelman to speak at MLK commemorative breakfast at FIU

To honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., Florida International University has invited a civil rights icon to pay tribute and share her experiences.

Marian Wright Edelman, the founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, will serve as the keynote speaker at FIU’s annual King commemorative breakfast. The event takes place at 8 a.m. Friday on FIU’s Modesto Maidique Campus, 11200 SW Eighth St.

This year will mark the 25th year that FIU’s office of multicultural programs and services has organized the breakfast, and more than 500 people are expected to attend. Janice Spann-Givens, the office’s associate director, said Edelman matches up perfectly with the kind of speakers FIU hopes to have at the breakfast each year.

“We’re always looking for dynamic speakers, and when we can get someone who has had some connection to civil rights we do,” Spann-Givens said.

Edelman, a graduate of the historically black Spelman College and of Yale Law School, directed the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, Mississippi. She also served as legal counsel for the Poor People’s Campaign, organized by King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

The breakfast will also feature a special musical performance from an FIU alumnus, a video showing the history of the breakfast and other surprises.

For more information on the full slate of King holiday events organized by the office of multicultural programs and services, visit its website. .

This story was originally published January 13, 2016 at 2:17 PM with the headline "Marian Wright Edelman to speak at MLK commemorative breakfast at FIU."