The speaker at the first Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner was the man of honor's son Martin Luther III in 2006. Since then, speakers have included the author of "The Pursuit of Happyness," and the coaches of "Remember the Titans." This year's keynote speaker is John Legend, a nine-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist and one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People.

Aside from Legend's musical accomplishments, which include three consecutive albums that reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop charts and selling more than 3 million copies worldwide of his album "Get Lifted," Legend has left a mark on society through his philanthropy.

"I really wanted a speaker, I think all of us kind of agreed, on having a speaker this year that not only would be entertaining but also would be relatable to students," said Brandi Brooks, co-chair of the committee that chooses the speaker. "I just think this is such an important event here to not only celebrate the life and the legacy of Dr. King but also to bring it all kind of together for students. ... Mr. Legend has really gotten some excellent credentials as far as education's concerned, he does a lot of community service."

The list of Legend's philanthropic accomplishments are extensive and include such awards as the CARE Humanitarian Award for Global Change in 2009, the 2009 Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award from Africare and the 2010 BET Humanitarian of the Year Award.

Legend launched the Show Me Campaign, which encourages the use of education to fight poverty, in 2007. He sits on the boards of the Education Equality Project, Teach for America, Stand for Children and the Harlem Village Academies and co-chairs the Harlem Village Academies' National Leadership board.

Mass communications professor Dr. Tamara Zellars Buck said she attends the event every year but will attend the event with her mother, who appreciates work toward improving education, this year.

"I attend it every year, but my mom was excited," Buck said. "She's an educator, which makes me a teacher's kid, but she was really interested because John Legend's politics are really about the need to effectively reform the education system. He's been a big advocate for how kids learn and where they learn and investing in education, so she's interested in that, but we're both fans of his music."

Brooks said she is proud of the fact that all tickets are free for students, including dinner tickets when they are available, and that balcony tickets are also available for only the speaking event. She said she wanted students who had night classes or other obligations during the time of the dinner to be able to attend, and the balcony tickets have a later arrival time.

"If you've never attended before hopefully you can expect to get a really good meal," Brooks said. "You can also expect to not necessarily be entertained, but to have some thought-provoking conversation and that's really always our goal with this event is to not only let it be a time for the community to come together but to think about what the event really truly does mean. It isn't just for us to come and have a great time, while that's all well and good, it is also there for us to really truly think about how far we've come and how far we have to go."

Dinner tickets cost $18 and balcony with no dinner tickets cost $10 for the general public. Tables with eight seats cost $130. Sponsors could purchase tables at the platinum, gold, silver and bronze levels that include various extra benefits such as recognition at the dinner and a VIP reception with Legend. As of Friday only one table was available, and Brooks said tickets are selling faster than ever.

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner will take place at 6 p.m. Jan. 23 at the Show Me Center. Students can register for tickets by contacting Elizabeth Maldonado at 573-651-2524 or emaldonado@semo.edu. Speaker-only tickets can be claimed at showmecenter.biz.