91传媒鈥檚 annual MLK Jr. Unity Day event will be virtual Monday featuring Justice Reuben Anderson
Contact: Allison Matthews
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擣ormer Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Reuben V. Anderson will keynote 91传媒鈥檚 27th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Day event and Day of Service on Monday [Jan. 18]. 聽
One of the university鈥檚 largest annual special events, this year鈥檚 program will not be held in person, but will be shown virtually online and broadcast on MSTV in observance of COVID-19 safety protocols. The event will be broadcast at 8 a.m. on MSTV and livestreamed at , in addition to being made available on the 91传媒 website. It will re-air on MSTV throughout the day with showings at 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. MSTV is Mississippi State鈥檚 high definition television channel. Operated by the University Television Center, the channel is available to MaxxSouth Broadband subscribers in the Golden Triangle and those with C Spire Fiber TV throughout the state on Channel 80.
Anderson is a senior partner with Phelps Dunbar LLP and became the first African American justice on the Mississippi Supreme Court, serving from 1985-1991. Prior to presiding on the Supreme Court, Anderson was a Circuit Court judge for Mississippi鈥檚 7th Circuit Court District, County Court judge for Hinds County, and Municipal Court judge for the city of Jackson. He spent eight years as the Mississippi Associate Counsel for the NAACP鈥檚 Legal Defense and Educational Fund. An alumnus of Tougaloo College and the University of Mississippi School of Law, as well as the president of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Board of Trustees, Anderson recently chaired the commission to redesign Mississippi鈥檚 state flag.
Monday鈥檚 event also will feature a performance from the 91传媒 Black Voices Gospel Choir and remarks from 91传媒 President Mark E. Keenum. Donald Shaffer, director of African American studies at 91传媒, will serve as the emcee, and 91传媒鈥檚 Maroon Volunteer Center will facilitate service opportunities for students at sites across Starkville on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. 91传媒鈥檚 annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity event and Day of Service is sponsored by the Office of the President, Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President, Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, and the university鈥檚 Division of Student Affairs.