Forty years after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Americans on election night showed the world that his dream didnt die with him.

Now West Virginia University is looking for that Mountain State resident who best embodies Kings ongoing mission as the country embarks on new beginnings.

WVU s Center for Black Culture and Research is accepting statewide nominations for its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award, which will be presented Jan. 19, 2009, on the morning of the national holiday that bears his name.

Nominees are selected on the strength of their good works for others and their communities, said Marjorie Fuller, director of the Center for Black Culture and Research.

Past winners include former Freedom Rider Joan Browning; local musician and community organizer Al Anderson; and the late Dr. Robert Stitzel, who was well known for his public health advocacy at WVU and across the state.

I am quite impressed with the list of past recipients of the MLK Achievement Award,she said,and Im sure that this years winner will also be an exemplary example of the selfless mission and transformative vision set before us by Dr. King.

The award will be given during WVU s annual Martin Luther King Unity Breakfast, the traditional opening to a host of events on campus and across the Morgantown community honoring Kings life and times for the holiday.

Nominations are being accepted through Dec. 3. The form may be downloaded online at http://cbc.wvu.edu/martin_luther_king_jr_programs . The mailing address is: WVU Center for Black Culture and Research, 590 Spruce St., P.O. Box 6417, Morgantown, WV 26506 -6417.

For more information, contact Fuller at ” marjorie.fuller@mail.wvu.edu rel=nofollow> marjorie.fuller@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-7029 ext. 110.

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