Historic Papers, the “N-Word,” a Day of Movies
Following are edited statements from ABC, American Public Media, BET, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News Channel, PBS, Public Radio International and TV One on their plans for commemorating the Martin Luther King Day holiday. Others will be added as they become available.
ABC
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“World News with Charles Gibson” will feature a behind-the-scenes look at the most comprehensive collection of Martin Luther King Jr.’s writings— sermons, speeches, diaries and notes — that are now part of a permanent exhibit in Atlanta. Mayor Shirley Franklin, who was instrumental in bringing the writings to Atlanta, will be interviewed.
“Nightline” correspondent Vicki Mabrey will also report from the newly opened exhibit in Atlanta.
“Good Morning America” will feature reports from affiliates from around the country on how people are honoring King’s legacy — namely through volunteer and service projects.
On “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” on Sunday, Mayor Franklin will be featured in the “Voices” segment.
For the second year in a row, ABC News Now, a 24-hour news service for users of computers, cellphones and other wireless devices, will simulcast ABC affiliate WFTS-Tampa’s coverage of the 22nd annual St. Petersburg Martin Luther King Day Parade. The organizers say it’s the largest such parade in the country.
ABCNews.com will cover events across the country and dedicate a section on the home page to King. The section will include original stories, slideshows, historic videos and other information on key civil rights figures.
American Public Media
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On Monday, American Public Media, in partnership with NPR, will broadcast the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s “A King Celebration”— one of nation’s most significant musical tributes to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — on a special edition of “Performance Today” hosted by Fred Child. The annual concert — produced by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in partnership with the King Center, Morehouse and Spelman College Glee Clubs — was to take place at Morehouse College in Atlanta, the alma mater of Dr. King, on Jan. 11. Check local listings for broadcast time.
The program for the 15th annual presentation of “A King Celebration” includes Richard Danielpour’s “Triptych” from Margaret Garner with mezzo-soprano Pamela Dillard; Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue ” with pianist Terrence Wilson; Child’s “For Holly “; and “Ode to Joy, ” the Finale to Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9 ” with soprano Cynthia Haymon, mezzo-soprano Pamela Dillard, tenor Vinson Cole and bass-baritone Alfred Walker as soloists. The event also features a special guest appearance and recitation by Dr. Maya Angelou.
BET
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BET.com has devoted a portion of its site to Martin Luther King Jr. The site says, “Watch the MLK special reports on BET Network at 11:40 a.m., 12:40 a.m., 2:20 p.m., 3:20 p.m., 5:20 p.m., 6:40 p.m., 7:20 p.m. (ET/PT).”
CBS
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On Monday, Mark Strassmann has a report on the King papers on “The Early Show.” There will also be a report honoring civil rights leaders on the “CBS Evening News” on Monday. “Sunday Morning” features art collectors Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, who lived through the civil rights movement. The report is about their extensive collection and the history behind their art.
CNN
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In honor of the 78th birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Monday, Jan. 15, CNN plans comprehensive programming on its multiple platforms.
On Sunday, Jan. 14, within the 9 a.m. hour, CNN anchor T.J. Holmes will interview former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young about his personal reflections from the front lines of the civil rights movement with King.
On the actual holiday, CNN’s “American Morning” will report from the King Center in Atlanta, as the first holiday observations are held following the death of King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, on Jan. 30, 2006. In addition, “American Morning” will air some of anchor Soledad O’Brien’s interviews with King’s confidants, who comment on what was happening behind the scenes during key moments of the movement.
CNN Pipeline, a subscription-based online news video service, continues to carry segments from the “American Morning” series about King’s working papers that aired from Jan. 8 to Jan. 12 and featured O’Brien’s interviews. In addition, CNN.com has created a special section, “MLK: Words that Changed a Nation,” at www.CNN.com/mlk. The online report illustrates King’s role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott; the formation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; his receipt of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize; the 1965 march in Selma, Ala., for voting rights; and his assassination in 1968.
C-SPAN
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Monday’s “Washington Journal” will feature a journalists’ round-table discussion about race relations in the U.S. with Kevin Merida of the Washington Post, Deborah Timmons of the Washington Times and Mark Fitzgerald of Editor & Publisher magazine.
The following programs are encore presentations from C-SPAN’s weekend Book TV programming on C-SPAN2 (which airs Saturdays at 8 a.m. through Monday at 8 a.m. ET):
- 2006 Great Read — Cornel West, author and religion professor, on his reading habits and his current book projects, Sunday at 11:05 a.m. West discusses the value of reading classic texts during a time of political turmoil and also describes two books he is writing.
- 2006 Great Read — Tavis Smiley, “This Much I Know is True,” Monday at 2:15 a.m. Smiley describes an incident when he was 13 years old that has shaped his adult life.
On C-SPAN3, a block of programming on C-SPAN history starts at 8 p.m. ET Monday and continues through 10 a.m. Tuesday:
- Civil rights photographers discuss and display their pictures of MLK (2004)
- Civil Rights Movement Reporting: Reflections by Nick Kotz and Karl Fleming (2006)
- JFK, MLK, and RFK, 1960-68, Part I: Ted Sorensen, Taylor Branch, Harris Wofford and Robert Moses (2005)
- JFK, MLK, and RFK, 1960-68, Part II: Marian Wright Edelman, Elaine Jones and Juan Williams (2005)
- History Booknotes: Andrew Young, “A Way Out of No Way: The Spiritual Memoirs of Andrew Young” (1994)
- Drew Hansen, “The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation (2003)
- Dexter Scott King, “Growing Up King: An Intimate Memoir” (2003)
- Lyndon Johnson’s Voting Rights Address (1965)
- Herb Boyd, “We Shall Overcome: The History of the Civil Rights Movement As It Happened” (2004)
- A Conversation with Taylor Branch. The historian talks to radio talk show host Tavis Smiley (2006)
Fox News Channel
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“Fox News Channel celebrates Martin Luther King Day with special coverage of events and ceremonies. There will also be related bookings throughout the day and through primetime programming. Additionally, there will be special on-air IDs and promos to honor the holiday,” a spokeswoman said.
As examples, she said Greta Van Susteren will interview Jesse Jackson for “On The Record with Greta Van Susteren,” and Neil Cavuto will interview Leroy Comrie, Queens, N.Y., city councilman, who is on a mission to remove the “N-word” from public discourse, on “Your World with Neil Cavuto.”
PBS
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PBS will rebroadcast the first episode of “Eyes on the Prize,” “Awakenings 1954-1956,” on Monday. Dr. King features prominently in this episode. Individual acts of courage inspire black Southerners to fight for their rights: Mose Wright testifies against the white men who murdered young Emmett Till, and Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Ala.
After “Eyes on the Prize,” PBS is rebroadcasting “The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords” from 10 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. ET. This documentary provides an in-depth examination of the history and contributions of African American newspapers, which have existed since the early 1800s. The program gives life to this little-known history by weaving interviews with editors, photographers and journalists of the black press with archival footage, photographs and the music of Grammy award-winning jazz artist Ron Carter. Stage, screen and television actor Joe Morton narrates the film.
On Monday from 11-11:30 p.m. ET (check local listings), The “Tavis Smiley Show” is featuring Clarence B. Jones, King’s speechwriter and attorney, and Dr. Clayborne Carson of the Martin Luther King Papers Project at Stanford University.
Public Radio International
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Public Radio International fed to its affiliates a new one-hour “Humankind” special that probes the philosophy of peaceful disobedience practiced by Dr. King, based in part on his study of the nonviolent strategy of India’s Mohandas K. Gandhi. The one-hour documentary is produced and hosted by David Freudberg.
Among those heard is the Rev. Vincent Harding, a King speechwriter and longtime aide who was a major influence in the formation of King’s nonviolent beliefs and tactics. We will also hear the story of Mohandas Gandhi’s grandson, Dr. Arun Gandhi, now 72, who founded the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence at the University of Rochester. As an angry teenager, Arun received daily tutorials in peacemaking taught in one-one-one sessions for a year and a half by his world-famous grandfather. The program considers the applicability of this philosophy to inter-personal relations and to today’s dangerous world.
TV One
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TV One is featuring a “Martin Luther King Movie Marathon”:
- 8 a.m. — “Port Chicago Mutiny.” Fact-based story about 300 sailors, predominantly black, who were killed on July 17, 1944, while loading munitions on a ship in the San Francisco Bay area during World War II. Three weeks later, 50 survivors were court-martialed for refusing to load another shipment. The men cited the Navy’s lack of care about their safety.
10 a.m. — “The Vernon Johns Story.” James Earl Jones and Mary Alice star in this pre-civil rights story.
- Noon — “The Fire This Time.” The rioting after the Rodney King decision in 1992 is the centerpiece for this documentary.
- 2 p.m. — “Native Son.” Oprah Winfrey and Victor Love star in this feature-film version of Richard Wright’s classic novel.
- 4 p.m. — “American Blackout.” This documentary chronicles the recurring patterns of disenfranchisement witnessed from 2000 to 2004 as it follows the story of Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., who not only took an active role in investigating these election debacles but found herself in the middle of one after publicly questioning the Bush administration about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Some call McKinney a civil rights leader among the ranks of Shirley Chisholm and Malcolm X. Others call her a conspiracy theorist and a “looney.” American Blackout gains unprecedented access to one of the most controversial and dangerous politicians in America and examines the contemporary tactics used to control our democratic process and silence political dissent.
- 6 p.m. — “The Marva Collins Story.” Cicely Tyson and Morgan Freeman star in this story of a dedicated African American teacher in an inner-city school in the Midwest who faces tough odds helping ghetto children to succeed.
- 8 p.m. — “Murder in Mississippi.” Based on a true story, a personal account of the circumstances surrounding the murder of three civil rights workers in Mississippi during the “Freedom Summer” voter registration drives in 1964. The movie focuses on the three individuals involved, and takes place mostly before their deaths. Unlike the movie “Mississippi Burning,” which deals with the same event, “Murder in Mississippi” does not address the search for and prosecution of the men who committed the murders, but rather attempts to show the mindsets of those involved in the civil rights movement. Blair Underwood stars.
- 11 p.m. — “Native Son.”
- 1 a.m. — “The Lost Man.” Sidney Poitier and Al Freeman Jr. star in this film about a gang of black militants who plot to rob a factory to finance their “revolutionary struggle.”
- 3 a.m. — “Murder in Mississippi.”