In some ways it is impossible to fully celebrate MLK Day in a virtual environment, after all, the movement for racial justice and Civil Rights  has always been about coming together. However, the decision to go digital does honor another aspect of the movement- its creativity and collective action.

Hosted by various WNYC radio hosts, this commemorative and uplifting special brings together scholars, cultural and community leaders, and activists to engage in conversations and performance, exploring the many ways the arts influenced the creative nonviolent resistance of Dr. King's activism and how his work is continued today.

You'll be hearing excerpts from the Uptown Hall: MLK- Activism And The Arts, our live celebration of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. recorded on Apollo Digital Stage. Brian Lehrer sat down with award winning children’s book author Jacqueline Woodson; Kai Wright spoke with Rashaad Robinson from Color of Change; and WNYC’s Jami Floyd, spoke with Garrett McQueen, executive producer and co-host of the Trilluqoy podcast and president of trill werks media. WNYC’s host of “all of it”, Alison Stewart was joined by stage and film actress, writer and director, Trezana Beverly and Jonathan McCrory, the artistic director of the National Black Theater.

The Takeaway host Melissa Harris-Perry spoke with artist, collector, CEO and founder Of Black Art In America, Najee Dorsey and former executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, mayor of Atlanta, member of Congress, and US Ambassador to the United Nations, Andrew Young.

Graphic courtesy of WNYC

(WNYC Studios )