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MLK Program Geared More To Youth This Year

Participants march from The Freedom Center and Fountain Square to the commemorative celebration at Music Hall in 2014.
Ann Thompson
/
WVXU
Participants march from The Freedom Center and Fountain Square to the commemorative celebration at Music Hall in 2014.

Look for a more youthful presence at this year's Martin Luther King Jr., Music Hall celebration, complete with  lots of upbeat music and poetry, busloads of kids from NKU and UC with attendees taking pictures and tweeting about it.

Organizers decided the old way of doing things, a three hour program with a keynote speaker, was losing people's energy. Board member Christina Brown said, "We weren't sure if young people were connecting to more than just King's image. Did they understand King's ideologies and did they see him as a relevant figure?"

This year's program has been shortened to 90 minutes and will be filled with groups like:

  • NKU's Black Theatre Ensemble
  • Martin Luther King Chorale
  • S.W.E.R.V.E (poetry)
  • Wordplay Cincinnati Scribes

The day begins with a sold-out breakfast at the National Underground Freedom Center. Then at 10:30 people will march from the Freedom Center to Fountain Square and Music Hall. (a bus will be available for those who can't walk) After a 11:00 a.m. prayer service on Fountain Square participants will march to Music Hall for the noon program.

Copyright 2021 91.7 WVXU. To see more, visit 91.7 WVXU.

With more than 30 years of journalism experience in the Greater Cincinnati market, Ann Thompson brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting. She has reported for WKRC, WCKY, WHIO-TV, Metro Networks and CBS/ABC Radio. Her work has been recognized by the Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists. In 2019 and 2011 A-P named her “Best Reporter” for large market radio in Ohio. She has won awards from the Association of Women in Communications and the Alliance for Women in Media. Ann reports regularly on science and technology in Focus on Technology.