Martin Luther King Day – Special Programming Jan. 19 & 20

WJFF marks the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday with 17 hours of special programming on two days – Sunday and Monday January 19 and 20. Hear King in his own words, stories from those who knew him, people who shared in his cause, as well as the music that inspired King and the music that he inspired.

SUNDAY, January 19:

2p – SPEECH & MUSIC – “On the Power of Peaceful Persuasion”
WJFF kicks off its MLK Day marathon with Dr. King in his own words in this speech from 1957, the earliest King recording in the Pacifica archives, followed by a few gospel tunes. Airs in place of Sinner’s Crossroads

3p – SPEECHES – From the Vault: Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Tribute
Two seldom-heard speeches from late in Dr. King’s life – “The Casualties of the War In Vietnam” at The Nation Institute, Los Angeles February 25, 1967 and a speech given before the California Democratic Council in Anaheim March 16, 1968
Airs in place of Fresh Air

9p – SPEECH – “America’s Chief Moral Dilemma”
Dr. King speaks on the immorality of America’s involvement in Vietnam. Recorded on the Sproul Hall steps, UC Berkeley, May 17, 1967. From the Pacifica Archives.

10p – MUSIC – Upfront Soul, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Edition
Sanguine Fromage’s annual tribute to the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with two hours of funk, soul, jazz, and gospel, along with excerpts of Dr. King’s speeches and field recordings from the African-American civil rights movement.
Airs in place of Concierto

MONDAY, January 20:

9a – SPEECHES – “We Want to Be Free,” “Dimensions of a Complete Life”
More Dr. King speeches from the Pacifica Archives. “We Want to Be Free,” given at a Freedom Rally in Los Angeles May 26, 1963 “Dimensions of a Complete Life,” Yale University, January 14, 1962. From the Pacifica Archives.
Airs in place of BBC Newshour

10a – MUSIC – A Beautiful Symphony of Brotherhood: A Musical Journey in the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
A special hour of music, speeches, and sermons illustrating the powerful place that music held in King’s life and the role musicians played in his cause. Hosted by Terrance McKnight. From WQXR and WNYC
Airs in place of Performance Today

11a – SPEECH – London Speech On South Africa, December 7 1964
This lost speech was discovered in the Pacifica Archives in 2015. It includes Dr. King’s statement on apartheid and remarks on the recent sentencing of Nelson Mandela, delivered to the Christian Action group at City Temple Hall, London.
Airs in place of Performance Today

Noon – MUSIC – Martin Luther King Jr. (A Musical Remembrance)
An hour of music commemorating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., including some of the world’s greatest Jazz musicians who composed and performed for Dr. King. From the series Jazz Time.

1p – MUSIC – Dear Martin: Jazz Tributes to MLK
A musical salute to jazz fan Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with Oliver Nelson, Duke Ellington, Mary Lou Williams, and a Nina Simone performance recorded just three days after King’s assassination. From Night Lights on WFIU.

2p – DOCUMENTARY – The King of Love: A Short History of the Civil Rights Movement
A 90-minute audio collage of the struggle for civil rights focusing on the role of Dr. Martin Luther King. Produced by the late Dred-Scott Keyes. Will be rebroadcast at 11p.m. Airs in place of 51%, With Good Reason, and City Arts and Lectures

3:30p – INTERVIEW – Rev. William Barber II Fighting for Justice and Against Poverty & Discrimination
A look at King’s living legacy in 21st Century America. Rev. Barber speaks about fusing the interests of African Americans and working-class whites, especially in the face of Trumpism, and especially in the South on this 2017 interview from Building Bridges.
Airs in place of City Arts and Lectures

6p – DOCUMENTARY – King Stories
Close friends and associates of Dr. King (Ralph Abernathy, David Garrow, Dick Gregory, Mark Lane, Larry Williams, and host Julian Bond) share stories that reveal the personal and private sides of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Airs in place of Fresh Air

8:30p – SPEECH – Martin Luther King Jr. Massey Lecture #5, Christmas Sermon
Dr. King was the featured lecturer at Canada’s annual Massey lectures in 1967. The first four talks were recorded in a studio. This one, the fifth and final, was a sermon recorded live before at his own Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta Christmas Eve 1967.
Airs in place of T.U.C. Radio

9p – SPEECHES – “But If Not,” “Men & Women In The Arts Concerned with Vietnam”
Two more speeches from the Pacifica Archives. First, “But If Not,” delivered at Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, November 1967. Then, Dr. King’s last speech in Los Angeles, given in a house full of concerned artists, with James Baldwin introducing Dr. King.
Airs in place of First Voices Indigenous Radio

10p – SPEECH – “Dimensions of a Complete Life” and More
Following this half-hour speech from January 1962, two shorter speeches (“Domestic Urgencies vs. Military Costs,” February 1967; “The Civil Rights Movement and its Goals for the Future,” April 1967), and audio recorded in Central Park the day after Dr. King was assassinated with Ossie Davis, Pete Seeger, Richie Havens, and others.
Airs in place of Law & Disorder

11p –DOCUMENTARY – The King of Love: A Short History of the Civil Rights Movement
A rebroadcast of this 90-minute audio collage of the struggle for civil rights focusing on the role of Dr. Martin Luther King. Produced by the late Dred-Scott Keyes.
Airs in place of Bradcast