Soledad O’Brien, acclaimed CNN anchor and activist, will be speaking on Jan. 29 at the Performing Arts Center at 5:30 p.m. on the issues of social justice.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for the campus and local community to hear about the work Mrs. O’Brien has been involved in and also for how she’s tried to continue Dr. King’s legacy,” Dorsey Baldwin, director of the Multicultural Student Center, said.

O’Brien’s speech is part of GSU’s MLK Celebration held every year and will be on public service, social justice and encouraging students on campus to continue the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This is the first time she will be speaking at GSU.

“O’Brien will address a lot of the social justice issues that she has tackled. I think people will be able to relate to that regardless of their political affiliation,” Baldwin said.

The event is sponsored by the Multicultural Student Center and the Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and will focus on encouraging students to reach out into the community.

“You can’t deny the work that she has done to bring attention to multiple social justice issues,” Baldwin said. “I think it is going to be an amazing experience to listen to her story and testimony about the challenges she faced and obstacles she has overcome.”

The event is open to students, faculty and visitors from surrounding areas.

It will be free and no tickets will be distributed.  Seating is limited and on a first-come-first-serve basis so attendees are urged to arrive early.

O’Brien is the anchor CNN show “Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien” and special correspondent for CNN/U.S., according to a news release from GSU.

She joined CNN from NBC News in 2003, and since then has been involved in numerous documentaries covering issues like education and racial, religious and sexual equality.

In 2008, O’Brien’s reporting for Black in America publicized the state of Black America 40 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., according to the news release.

She has also reported for the CNN documentary “Words That Changed a Nation,” featuring a never-before-seen look at Dr. King’s private writings and notes and investigated his assassination in “Eyewitness to Murder: The King Assassination,” according to the news release.

O’Brien has covered many catastrophes, including the Japan earthquake and tsunami in 2011, the London terrorism attacks in July 2005 and Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

Baldwin said, “She has an amazing story that she will be able to share with Georgia Southern and our community.”