U.S. Navy veteran and historian Emanuel “Mack” Brown will be the keynote speaker at Simi Valley Second Missionary Baptist Church’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration at 11 a.m. Mon., Jan. 18 at 1063 Pacific Ave., Simi Valley.

The event, which is themed “The Struggle That Brings About Change,” will include a live gospel concert and praise dancing. The event is free and open to the public.

Brown was born in Benton Harbor, Mich. After high school he entered the Navy and toured Asia and Europe before being honorably discharged in 1979.

He went to work for GTE in 1980 and is the lead project manager in Verizon’s Network Engineering and Planning Department.

Brown has a passion for history and politics. He has focused his research on the origins of civilization and the pivotal role Africa played in its development.

He has completed graduate studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.