morris-dees-web.jpgLAKE WORTH – Morris Dees, co-founder and chief trial attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in Montgomery, Ala., will be the keynote speaker at the Palm Beach State College 14th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Breakfast.

The  celebration begins at 7:30 a.m. Jan. 17 with the program beginning at 8:15 a.m. on the Lake Worth campus, 4200 Congress Ave., in the outdoor plaza named in King’s honor, and the Duncan Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.

Dees and the SPLC have fought against racism and injustice for decades. Known for his innovative lawsuits that crippled some of America's most notorious white supremacist hate groups, Dees has received numerous awards, including the American Bar Association's ABA Medal, its highest medal, in 2011. He was the subject of a made-for-television movie, Line of Fire, about his successful fight against the Ku Klux Klan, including a $7 million precedent-setting judgment against the United Klans of America on behalf of the mother of Michael Donald, an African-American man lynched by the Klan in Mobile, Ala.

The college also will recognize its Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award recipients: Aileen Josephs, immigration attorney (Individual); Joseph B. Shearouse, III (Alumni); John Calderaio (Student); and The Comprehensive AIDS Program of Palm Beach County (Organization).

For more information call 561-868-3115 or visit palmbeachstate.edu/mlk