Lecia Brooks speaks at College of the Mainland Martin Luther King, Jr. event

College of the Mainland's Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black History Month Celebration on Jan. 26 featured guest speaker Lecia Brooks.

Brooks, director of outreach for the Southern Poverty Law Center, focused her presentation on the improvement of race relations in the years since King's seminal “I Have a Dream” speech.

Brooks reminded attendees that, while progress continues, King's work also emphasized the need to help those in poverty.

College of the Mainland is located at 1200 N. Amburn Road in Texas City. For more information, visit www.com.edu.