Thank you so much Leonard. I haven't been a fan of gospel music, but this wonderful yearly tribute to Dr. King changed that many years ago when I started listening to your show. I use to be frustrated by the difficulties of buying the music once I heard. Not anymore. I can now go to iTunes and find most of the songs you play.

Bless you.

Ozier

1. this is WNYC not WBAI
2. I love the music but Lenny you phoned this one in. This is the same show or the same music you played about 3 years ago per song. I know because I saved that show as an mp3 on my hard drive and I still have it. You can do a Mulligan for Easter.

Thanks Lenny for this wonderful annual celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thanks for all the gospel music you've given us since your days at WBAI.

Thanks to Dr. King for his utter faith and dedication and burning desire for equality and peace for all.

I'm pretty much anti-religion, but this is some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard. Thank you so much.

Uh, oh! I see this conversation has gotten off to a rocky start so let me just interject, "Thanks, Lenny, for this always lovely experience!"

Ed, Religion was brought inside the public square, recently, by political opportunists. As a result, religion was cheapened and there is a whole generation (~15-35) that is heavily anti-Religion. Not an intrinsic problem with religion but of modern politics.
[BTW, Atheist Dawkins tries to revise MLK's history as a minister, starting at 4:40, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NSk_ZeAH_I ]

If one asked Martin Luther King who he was, he wouldn't have said first 'a fighter for justice'. He would have said 'a Baptist minister and a disciple of Jesus Christ'. He applied Jesus' teaching to the injustice he saw. His father was of course a minister, and he studied theology.
Do we really want to put religious beliefs and principles outside the public square?
(The Gospel music is not just music, but prayer in the Baptist tradition.)