Although this annual MLK Tribute and Ceremony at the Wisconsin State Capitol has been canceled due to COVID-19, Wisconsin Public Radio will be celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on its stations and its website with two special programs on Monday, Jan. 17.
“The cancelation of Wisconsin’s 2022 Tribute and Ceremony honoring Dr. King need not diminish our individual commitment to treating each other with kindness, dignity, and fairness, especially during these challenging times,” said Wisconsin Public Radio’s Dr. Jonathan Overby in a statement.
The annual State of Wisconsin Tribute and Ceremony honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. brings politicians, community stakeholders, civil rights leaders and the greater Madison community together at the state Capitol rotunda every year. It is the oldest official state ceremony in the nation dedicated to Martin Luther King and is produced and directed by Overby, who also produces and hosts “The Road to Higher Ground” on Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR).
On Monday, WPR will rebroadcast the 2021 program at noon to remember and honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and will feature archived performances by students from James C. Wright Middle School in Madison, Milwaukee’s Latino Strings and Chicago’s GMAC Mass Choir, remarks by Gov. Tony Evers, and a keynote address by author Michelle Alexander, author of “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.”
On Monday evening at 8 p.m., WPR and PBS Wisconsin will offer a special audio broadcast of “Why Race Matters,” hosted by Angela Fitzgerald of PBS Wisconsin’s “Wisconsin Life.”
