Noted journalist and author Roland S. Martin will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Georgia Southern University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at the Performing Arts Center.

The Jan. 30 event in the PAC at 847 Plant Drive on the Statesboro campus is free and open to the public. Martin is also scheduled to speak earlier in the day on the university’s Armstrong campus in Savannah.

Martin is the host and managing editor of #RolandMartinUnfiltered, a daily online show focused on news and analysis of politics, entertainment, sports and culture from an explicitly African-American perspective.

Named four times as one of the “150 Most Influential African-Americans in the U.S.” by Ebony magazine, he has worked as news director and morning anchor at KKDA-AM in Dallas, city hall reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and county government and neighbors reporter for the Austin American-Statesman.

He is the author of three books, “Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith,” “Speak, Brother! A Black Man’s View of America” and “The First: President Barack Obama’s Road to the White House.” Martin has also written pieces for Ebony and Essence.

In his career, he has been awarded more than 30 awards for journalistic excellence, including being named the Journalist of the Year in 2013 by the National Association of Black Journalists.

Each year Georgia Southern hosts an MLK Celebration, not on the actual holiday, to give the university and local communities an opportunity to gather and celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.