National radio talk show host Tavis Smiley and Union Theological Seminar professor Cornel West will speak at the 2013 North Carolina Association of Educators Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Gala on Jan. 11, event officials announced Friday.

The gala's theme this year is "Living the Dream in a Whole New World." The event aims to create awareness for the competitive scholarship program, which offers financial support to high school graduates entering college in North Carolina.

Smiley and West jointly host a popular radio program on Public Radio International and tour the country through town hall meetings billed as "Poverty, Power and the Public Airwaves." 

NCAE President Rodney Ellis praised Smiley and West for speaking "honestly and passionately about issues related to political, economic, social and cultural disengagement of poor and working populations in America."

WRAL anchor David Crabtree will serve as emcee for the gala, which will be held from 6:30-9 p.m. at the N.C. State's McKimmon Center. Tickets are $50 for NCAE members and $75 for non-members. Tickets can be purchased online at the NC Foundation for Public School Children website.