Special: A musical journey in the life of MLK, Jr.

Hosted by

MLK memorial peeking through cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. Credit: John Brighenti (CC BY 2.0). 

Martin Luther King, Jr. grew up listening to and singing church songs, and saw gospel and folk music as natural tools to further the civil rights movement.

On this holiday, we air an hour-long special from WQXR and WNYC called “Beautiful Symphony of Brotherhood: A Musical Journey in the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.” Host Terrance McKnight interweaves musical examples with Dr. King's own speeches and sermons to illustrate the powerful place that music held in his work, and examines how the musical community responded to and participated in Dr. King's cause.