Let Freedom Ring, an annual concert in Washington, D.C., celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr., has been a signature event at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for more than 20 years. Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan have performed, backed by a choir made up of singers from D.C.-area churches and from Georgetown University, which produces the event.
But this year's event, headlined by actor and rapper Common, will not be held at the Kennedy Center.
Georgetown University says it is moving Let Freedom Ring to D.C.'s historical Howard Theatre to save money.
For Marc Bamuthi Joseph, it wouldn't make sense to hold it at the Kennedy Center this year.
Until March 2025, Bamuthi was the Kennedy Center's artistic director for social impact, a division that created programs for underserved communities in the D.C. region. He regularly spoke at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day event. "I would much rather that we all be spared the hypocrisy of celebrating a man who not only fought for justice, but who articulated the case for equity maybe better than anyone in American history … when the official position of this administration is an anti-equity position," he said.
President Trump has criticized past programming at the Kennedy Center as "woke" and issued executive orders calling for an end to diversity in cultural programming.
In February 2025, Trump took over the Kennedy Center and appointed new leadership. Shortly thereafter, the social media division was dissolved. Bamuthi and his team were laid off.
Composer Nolan Williams Jr., Let Freedom Ring's music producer since 2003, also says he has no regrets that the event is moving.
"You celebrate the time that was and the impact that has been and can never be erased. And then you move forward to the next thing," said Williams.
This year, Williams wrote a piece for the event called "Just Like Selma," inspired by one of King's most famous quotes: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
Williams says sometimes the quote is "interpreted in a passive way."
"The arc doesn't just happen to move. We have to be agents of change. We have to be active arc movers, arc benders," said Williams. "And so throughout the song, you hear these action words like 'protest,' 'resist,' 'endure,' 'agitate,' 'fight hate.' And those are all the action words that remind us of the responsibility that we have to be arc benders."
The Kennedy Center announced Tuesday that its celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. next week will feature the Missionary Kings of Harmony of the United House of Prayer for All People's Anacostia congregation.
The audio and digital versions of this story were edited by Jennifer Vanasco.
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