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WNYC and The Apollo Announce the 19th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration

“A Burning House”: MLK and the American Experiment

Hosted by WNYC’s Michael Hill, Brian Lehrer, and Janae Pierre, with WQXR’s Terrance McKnight

Sunday January 19, 2-4pm at The Apollo’s Historic Theater in Harlem

Event to be recorded for broadcast on WNYC 93.9 FM and AM 820 on Monday, January 20 at 2pm; special to also air on public radio stations across the county

Presented in collaboration with March On

(New York, NY – January 15, 2025) – WNYC and The Apollo present the 19th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration, programmed as part of The Apollo’s Uptown Hall series, on Sunday, January 19 at 2pm. This annual co-production between two of New York City’s iconic institutions has become the city’s signature event commemorating the political, cultural, and social legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

“A Burning House” MLK and the American Experiment will explore Dr. King’s enduring legacy through the lens of his profound reflection on integration and his call for deeper societal transformation. Inspired by his conversation with Harry Belafonte imagining America as a “burning house,” the event will explore the complexities of belonging, justice, and collective responsibility in our contemporary moment. To follow Dr. King’s call for Americans to “become the firemen” and “not stand by and let the house burn,” the event will bring together distinguished scholars, faith leaders, artists and public intellectuals for a dialogue about building a society that truly embraces all its members. 

The conversation  will be hosted by WNYC’s Michael Hill, Brian Lehrer, and Janae Pierre, along with WQXR’s Terrance McKnight.

Guests for the event include:

  • Christina Greer, associate professor of political science at Fordham University
  • Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Senior Minister, Middle Collegiate Church
  • Mike Madrid, Host of “The Latin Vote” podcast and co-founder of The Lincoln Project
  • Jonathan McCrory, executive artistic director of National Black Theatre
  • Rashad Robinson, Former President, Color of Change
  • Dr. Jeanne Theoharis, professor at Brooklyn College and author of A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History
  • Irvin Weathersby, Jr., author of In Open Contempt: Confronting White Supremacy in Art and Public Space

The event will also feature performances from The Unsung Collective and Troy Anthony and the Fire Ensemble.

LaFontaine E. Oliver, President and CEO and Brenda Williams, Chief Diversity Officer of New York Public Radio; Michelle Ebanks, President and CEO of The Apollo; and Isisara Bey, Artistic Director of March On will give opening remarks.

The program will be recorded for broadcast on WNYC and syndicated nationally. The WNYC broadcast will air on Monday, January 20 at 2pm on WNYC 93.9 FM, AM 820, and www.wnyc.org. The event will be available to digital audiences everywhere as a livestream via The Apollo’s Facebook and YouTube, as well as on WNYC’s and The Apollo’s YouTube pages. Tickets are free with advance RSVP, with a limited quantity of in-person standby tickets available on the day of the event. For more information, please click here.

ABOUT WNYC
With an urban vibrancy and a global perspective, WNYC is New York’s public radio station, broadcasting and streaming award-winning journalism, groundbreaking audio programming and essential talk radio to the city and beyond. WNYC is a leading member station of NPR and broadcasts programs from the BBC World Service, along with a roster of WNYC-produced local programs that champion the stories and spirit of New York City and the surrounding region. From its state-of-the-art studios, WNYC is reshaping audio for a new generation of listeners, producing some of the most beloved nationally-syndicated public radio programs including Radiolab, On the Media, The New Yorker Radio Hour, and the local radio show and podcast The Brian Lehrer Show. WNYC broadcasts on 93.9 FM and AM 820 to listeners in New York and the tri-state area, and is available to audiences everywhere at WNYC.org, the WNYC app and through major digital radio services, all made possible through the generous support of our members, donors and sponsors.

ABOUT THE APOLLO
The legendary Apollo—the soul of American culture—plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends. Since its founding, The Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world. In 2024, The Apollo opened The Apollo Stages at the Victoria Theater, marking the first ever expansion and renovation of The Apollo in its nearly 90-year history. The Apollo also has plans to renovate its Historic Theater. For more information about The Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org

With music at its core, The Apollo’s programming extends to dance, theater, spoken word, and more. This includes the world premiere of the theatrical adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me and the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved; special programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno Mars Live at the Apollo; 100: The Apollo Celebrates Ella; and the annual Africa Now! Festival. The non-profit Apollo Theater is a performing arts presenter, commissioner, and collaborator that also produces festivals, large-scale dance and musical works organized around a set of core initiatives that celebrate and extend The Apollo’s legacy through a contemporary lens, including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival as well as other multidisciplinary collaborations with partner organizations.

Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, The Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in the emergence of many new musical genres—including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at The Apollo are Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, H.E.R., D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Machine Gun Kelly, and Miri Ben Ari; and The Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy. For more information about The Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org.

ABOUT MARCH ON
March On, originally founded in 2013 as the March on Washington Film Festival in Washington, DC, was established to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The inaugural festival drew over 1,000 attendees to ten impactful events across the city over two weeks, laying the groundwork for what has become a powerful platform for storytelling and social justice.

Held annually in Washington, DC, the flagship March On Festival celebrates and amplifies the untold stories and unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement while connecting them to today’s movements for equity and justice. Through film screenings, panel discussions, live performances, and community gatherings, the festival fosters dialogue and brings together audiences of all ages, classes, and ethnicities to reflect on history and inspire progress.

Over the past decade, the March On Festival has grown into a national movement, engaging tens of thousands of participants globally. Notable past contributors include literary icons Nikki Giovanni and Ta-Nehisi Coates; Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Eugene Robinson and Hank Klibanoff; former U.S. Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch; celebrated artists like Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Diahann Carroll, Yara Shahidi, and 9th Wonder; and prominent Civil Rights leaders such as Joyce and Dorie Ladner, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Rep. Raphael Warnock, Julian Bond, and Judge Damon Keith.

Through its programming, March On continues to honor the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and inspire action for a more just and equitable future.