The West Virginia University Center for Black Culture and Research will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy at its 25th annual MLK Unity Breakfast on Jan. 18 at 8 a.m. in the Mountainlair Ballrooms. The breakfast honors King’s humanitarian efforts as a leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

Keynote speaker will be Charles Emanuel, a member of the WVU Alumni Association Board of Directors and former NFL player.

Emanuel grew up in Indiantown, FL, a small migrant farm-working town. While statistically, he was never to make it out of his small hometown, let alone go to college, play professional football and become a successful attorney, he overcame the odds with a mission to never give up.

He received a full ride to play college football for the West Virginia University Mountaineers where he earned his Bachelor of Arts and was named team captain his senior year. While playing for WVU, he received numerous awards for his academic and athletic performance, including the Fred Schaus’ Award, awarded to WVU’s top team captain, Iron Mountaineers Award, the Ideal Mountaineer Award, and Ira Rogers Awards for leadership and academics. He also received the Jackie Robinson/Wilma Rudolph Award and finished in the top 20 WVU career tackles.

Upon his graduation, Emanuel signed a rookie free agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings, and was the only rookie free agent to make the opening fame day roster. He went on to play for the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before suffering a career ending injury.

Emanuel moved on to his next dream of becoming an attorney and graduated from the Florida Coastal School of Law. He is now a founding partner of The Emanuel Firm in Orlando, FL. He represents former NFL players and was the first attorney to sue the NFL teams in the head concussion litigation.

The National Black Lawyers Top 100 has recognized Emanuel as one of the top 100 black attorneys in America. His legal expertise is within the fields of personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice and commercial litigation.

Emanuel is married to WVU graduate Christine Emanuel and they have three boys. He volunteers his time coaching youth football and serving as a board member for the Lake Nona Jr Lions and Lake Nono YMCA. He and his wife believe in giving back. They financially support several youth sports leagues and local schools in the Orlando area.

The MLK Scholarship Award and the MLK Achievement Award will be presented at the breakfast. The Scholarship is awarded annually to a WVU student who demonstrates an active interest and meaningful involvement in areas of human rights, civil rights and social justice. The Achievement Award is awarded to the nominee from the state of West Virginia who best exemplifies one who is working to fulfil the commitment of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The event is free and open to the public. To RSVP call 304.293.7029.

-WVU-

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CONTACT: Marjorie Fuller, Center for Black Culture and Research
304.293.7029, Marjorie.Fuller@mail.wvu.edu

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.