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Two generations have come of age since the 1968 assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today, you are just as likely to meet someone who voted for the very first time in the 2008 presidential election as you are to meet someone who recalls hearing one of Dr. King's notable speeches. You can listen or watch WNYC's fourth annual MLK Day event at the Brooklyn Museum below. The event features WNYC hosts Brian Lehrer and Celeste Headlee as they discuss the generational changes with a distinguished panel of educators, politicians, activists, and artists. You can see a slideshow of the event here. And make sure to check out rare interviews with Dr. King from the WNYC archives.

Featured Speakers:

Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, resident Emeritus, Bronx Community College, CUNY and former Tuskegee Airman

Majora Carter, president of the consulting firm Majora Carter Group, founder of Sustainable South Bronx, co-host of Sundance Channel's "The Green," and host of the public radio series, "The Promised Land"

Eddie Glaude, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Religion at Princeton, author of In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America

Major Owens, former U.S. Congressman from New York (1983-2007) and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus

Patricia Williams, J.D., James L. Dohr Professor of Law, Columbia University, columnist for The Nation magazine, and author, The Alchemy of Race and Rights and The Rooster's Egg: On the Persistence of Prejudice, among other titles

Jocelyn McCalla has been involved in international human rights and U.S. policy analysis and advocacy for years, testifying frequently before the U.S. Congress, and working with a wide range of non-governmental organizations; the U.S. Government, United Nations, and Organization for American States to promote human rights and democracy in Haiti. He currently serves as the Senior Advisor to the Special Envoy of Haiti for the UN, Ambassador Leslie Voltaire.

Featured Performers:

Camonghne Felix, Poet
Watch a Sample

David Lamb, Producer and Playwright
Read a Sample

You can see a slideshow from the event here.

Below is the full audio from the event:

Here is David Lamb reading from his play "Platanos and Collard Greens":

Here is Camonghne Felix reading her poem she wrote for the event:



Part One:


Part Two:


Audio

These interviews were conducted by Eleanor Fischer, a Columbia Law School graduate who practiced civil rights law, poverty law, and constitutional law, mostly pro bono. She represented the Presbyterian Council on Race and Religion in New York and Mississippi during the Freedom Summer of 1964. She eventually quit law to work in journalism and had the opportunity to interview Dr. King several times. Below are a few interviews she conducted with Dr. King and his wife Coretta Scott King between 1961 and 1967. Fischer passed away in 2008.


Here Fischer asks King about the Vietnam War and how his work with the civil rights movement is tied to the peace movement.



King tells Fischer about growing up in Atlanta, Ga and candidly explains how a minister must also be a civil rights leader. He also explains how his world view was shaped and how he used his philosophy of non-violence in the Montgomery bus boycott.



King and Fischer continue their discussion of the Montgomery bus boycott.



In this last piece of audio, Fischer sits down with Coretta Scott King to talk about her childhood and what it was like to be married to Dr. King.




The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. receiving the City of New York Medallion from Mayor Robert F. Wagner on December 17, 1964. Dr. King had just returned from Oslo, Norway a week earlier, after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. Coretta Scott King is between Dr. King and Mayor Wagner. (NYC Municipal Archives Collection).



You can hear a documentary produced by Fischer in 1962 for the CBC Radio program "Project '62," which uses some of these interviews here.



Special thanks to WNYC's Director of Archives Andy Lanset and Elizabeth Starkey

Martin Luther King Day Gospel Hour

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 18, 2010

Leonard Lopate DJs his annual Martin Luther King Day gospel show.

Playlist

"We Shall Overcome," Marion Williams (Through Many Dangers)
"Rock My Soul," Roberta Martin & The Roberta Martin Singers (Nuggets of the Golden Age of Gospel 1945-1958)
"I Won’t Mind," Norsalus McKissick & The Roberta Martin Singers (All God’s Sons and Daughters)
"Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," J. Robert Bradley (All God’s Sons and Daughters)
"Lord Hold My Hand," Jess Whitaker with Pilgrim Travelers (Kings of Gospel Highway)
"Jesus Remembers," Claude Jeter & The Swan Silvertones (Nuggets of the Golden Age of Gospel 1945-1958)
"Burying Ground," Julius "June" Cheeks & The Sensational Nightingales (Nuggets of the Golden Age of Gospel 1945-1958)
"A City Called Heaven" (Poor Pilgrim of Sorrow), Mahalia Jackson (Apollo Sessions, vol. 2)
"Pilgrim of Sorrow," Sam Cooke & the Soul Stirrers (Nuggets of the Golden Age of Gospel 1945-1958)
"The Love of God," Johnny Taylor & The Soul Stirrers (Nuggets of the Golden Age of Gospel 1945-1958)
"I’ve Got a Home in the Rock," Frank Sinatra & Charioteers (Billy Williams) (Nuggets of the Golden Age of Gospel 1945-1958)
"Walk with Me," Lou Rawls & The Chosen Gospel Singers (Nuggets of the Golden Age of Gospel 1945-1958)
"Walking in Jesus’ Name" Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart (Nuggets of the Golden Age of Gospel 1945-1958)
"Precious Lord, Part 2" Aretha Franklin (You Grow Closer)
"Precious Lord," Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Good News, vol. 3)
"Build Me a Cabin," Mme. Edna Gallon Cooke (Great Gospel Women, vol. 2)
"God Be with You," J. Earle Hines with St. Paul’s Baptist Church Choir (Great Gospel Men)

MLK Day: Generations Speak

The Brian Lehrer Show

January 18, 2010

Yesterday, Brian hosted, along with The Takeaway’s Celeste Hedlee, the annual Martin Luther King Jr conversation at the Brooklyn Museum. Joining him was:
Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, president emeritus of Bronx Community College and former Tuskegee Airman;
Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx, co-host of Sundance Channel’s “The Green” and host of the public radio series The Promised Land;
Dr. Eddie Glaude, associate professor of religion at Princeton University and author of In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America;
Major Owens, former U.S. Congressman (D-NY 11th) and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus;
Jocelyn McCalla, a policy consultant and Haiti's special envoy to the United Nations;
Jose Lopez, a community organizer from Make the Road New York;
David Lamb, a Producer and Playwright;
Poet Camonghne Felix;
and Patricia J. Williams, law professor at Columbia University and author of The Alchemy of Race and Rights.
Hear highlights of the discussion and share your thoughts on this MLK Day.

MLK and Inauguration: DC Check-In

The Brian Lehrer Show

January 19, 2009

Andrea Bernstein, WNYC reporter, discusses how DC is preparing for inauguration day.

The Gospel Truth

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 19, 2009

Leonard celebrates Martin Luther King day by spinning some of the activist gospel music that would have been performed in Rev. King's church. Here's the full playlist.

A Journey of Hope: From Protest to Presidency Pt 2

The Brian Lehrer Show

January 19, 2009

More excerpts from the previous days’ WNYC MLK event.

Download an MP3 of the event in its entirety
Download mp3

In King's Words

The Brian Lehrer Show

January 19, 2009

Michael Cohen, senior research fellow at the New America Foundation, looks at how Barack Obama's speeches are influenced by MLK's and others.

A Journey of Hope: From Protest to Presidency

The Brian Lehrer Show

January 19, 2009

Excerpts from the WNYC MLK event from the day before.

Download an MP3 of the event in its entirety
Download mp3

MLK Day Volunteering

The Brian Lehrer Show

January 19, 2009

Gary Bagley, executive director of New York Cares, discusses volunteer efforts going on today in New York.

Martin Luther King's Musical Journey

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 19, 2009

WNYC's own Terrance McKnight, host of Evening Music, talks about the Rev. Dr. King's personal musical journey. He's hosting "A Beautiful Symphony of Brotherhood: The Musical Journey of Martin Luther King, Jr." the evening of Monday, January 19.

majora carter

The Promised Land: Different Takes on the Legacy of Martin Luther King

January 17, 2009

Martin Luther King had a dream. "I've seen the promised land," he said. "I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land." It's mo....

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