Contact: Allison Matthews

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State’s 30th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast returns to The Mill at MSU on Jan. 15 with an 8 a.m. meal and 9 a.m. program. Day of Service activities will follow with volunteers working at sites across the community from 10 a.m.-noon.

“We look forward to gathering in person to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy through our fellowship, reflection and meaningful service in tribute to his memory and accomplishments,” said MSU Vice President for Access, Opportunity and Success Ra’Sheda Forbes.

Doors open at 7:30 a.m., and seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The Mill is located at 600 Russell St. A livestream of the program also will be available at https://vimeo.com/event/3999156.

This year’s keynote speaker is MSU alumna Camille Scales Young, principal and director with Cornerstone Government Affairs, a full-service, bipartisan consulting firm specializing in federal and state government relations, public affairs and strategic communications and advisory services. Young is based in the Jackson office.

The Shannon native and former national board president of the MSU Alumni Association previously served as a government affairs representative with one of the state’s leading law firms, Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis, P.A. She also worked with Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation where she spent time on Capitol Hill providing support for the agricultural community.

Her MSU degrees include a 1994 bachelor’s in communication and a 1996 master’s in agriculture and extension education with an emphasis in public policy. Young has received numerous prestigious accolades, including being named the 2021 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Alumni Fellow, a member of the Mississippi Business Journal’s Top 50 Business Women, and a Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scout Council of Middle Mississippi. In 2017, she was in the inaugural class of Top 50 Most Influential People in Mississippi. She and her husband Keith are parents of three children, including two MSU graduates. They are residents of Madison County.

In addition to welcoming remarks by MSU President Mark E. Keenum, the program also will feature music by the university’s Black Voices Gospel Choir. The program is sponsored by the Office of the President, Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President, Division of Access, Opportunity and Success, Maroon Volunteer Center and the university’s Division of Student Affairs.

After the breakfast program, MSU’s Maroon Volunteer Center, in coordination with Volunteer Starkville, will begin the MLK Jr. Day of Service activities. Volunteer opportunities are available at, among others, American Legion Post 13, Beehive Homes, Brickfire Project, Bully’s Pantry, Camp Seminole, The Farm, Goldton at Adelaide, J.L. King Center, Montgomery Gardens, MSU Community Garden, Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum, Sally Kate Winters Family Services, Salvation Army, Starkville Area Arts Council, Starkville Fire Department, Starkville Public Library, Starkville Strong, Sudduth Elementary School and West Point Clay County Animal Shelter.

For more information on MSU’s 2024 MLK Jr. Day observance, including volunteer service-day projects, visit https://msstate.campuslabs.com/engage/service-opportunities.