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91.7 WVXU presents several special programs on the weekend leading up to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Joining Lee Hay for a special edition of The Blues is Dion Brown, President and Chief Operating Office of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Lee Hay also produced Odetta: The Voice of The Civil Rights Movement and welcomed several guests to Around Cincinnati in honor of the holiday.

Celebrating The Life And Legacy Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

CREDIT WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Cincinnati celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. years before the official federal holiday. Today the tradition goes on, though significantly modified due to the pandemic.

The 46th annual MLK Day event in Cincinnati begins at 10:30 a.m. Monday with a commemorative march and motorcade beginning at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Then at 12 p.m., the MLK Commemorative Program premieres virtually at www.mlkcoalition.org

Today on Cincinnati Edition we talk with a local pastor who gave the keynote address, and a Cincinnati rabbi about the historic connection between Jewish people and Black civil rights activists. Then we explore the role of music in the struggle for racial justice. And we learn more about better ways to teach MLK in the classroom.

Joining the program are Beloved Community Church Senior Pastor and Xavier University Center for Faith and JusticeFaith and Race Program Director Rev. Nelson Pierce, Jr.; Hebrew Union College Institute of Religion Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives Executive Director and MLK CoalitionPast President Rabbi Gary Zola, Ph.D.; MLK ChoraleDirector Lois Shegog; MLK ChoralePast Director Steve Milloy; and Northern Kentucky UniversityCollege of Education Black Studies and History Department Affiliate and Social Studies Education & History Associate Professor David Childs, Ph.D.

WVXU's https://youtu.be/UMWXgbEjnaA" target="_blank">Democracy and Me has created a video to share more about MLK Day and how students are finding significance in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s message.

Listen to Cincinnati Edition live at noon M-F. Audio for this segment will be uploaded after 4 p.m. ET.

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Michael Monks brings a broad range of experience to WVXU-FM as the host of Cincinnati Edition, Cincinnati Public Radio's weekday news and information talk show.