…on the 50th Anniversary of His Death
SiriusXM announced today that it will honor civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with special programming airing across SiriusXM’s Urban View (126), Progress (127), and P.O.T.U.S. (124) channels. The exclusive programming will mark the 50 year anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination in Memphis, TN.
On Wednesday, April 4, SiriusXM host and human rights activist Joe Madison will remember Dr. King by broadcasting his daily show live from Ben’s Chili Bowl. The popular D.C. restaurant, which was frequented by Dr. King, remained open during the riots that ensued following Dr. King’s assassination, providing shelter and food to activists, firefighters, police officers, and public servants. Confirmed guests include Walter Fauntroy, former D.C. delegate to Congress; Virginia Ali, owner of Ben’s Chili Bowl; Anthony Williams, former Mayor of Washington D.C.; Sterling Tucker, former D.C. Council Chairman; Vincent Gray, D.C. Councilmember and former Mayor of D.C.; William Lucy, former Secretary of AFSCME; Tom Sherwood, veteran D.C. reporter; Bruce Johnson, WUSA-TV anchor; and radio broadcaster Butch McAdams. SiriusXM’s “Joe Madison The Black Eagle” airs on the Urban View channel from 6:00 am – 10:00 a.m. ET.
SiriusXM’s Progress channel will launch its two-day commemoration of Dr. King starting, Tuesday, April 3, with a special edition of “Make It Plain with Mark Thompson” (6:00 – 9:00 a.m. ET) live from The National Civil Rights Museum. The historic site is located at The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where Dr. King was assassinated in 1968. From 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET the channel will broadcast a live event, “The History of the Sanitation Workers Strike: Lesson Learned.” Actor and activist Danny Glover will moderate the conversation with William Lucy, who stood on the front lines with the strikers supported by Dr. King.
Progress will also broadcast from the Mason Temple Mountaintop Speech Commemoration event live from 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday night. The celebration will spotlight Dr. King’s famous last speech the night before his assassination. Top musicians will perform and be joined by Dr. King’s surviving children, national political figures, and the civil rights leaders who were by his side during his final moments.
On Wednesday, April 4, Progress will begin its special programming with Mark Thompson live from the Civil Rights Museum, before Thompson takes to the streets from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET as he broadcasts from within the “I Am a Man” march to Mason Temple and carries the rally’s speeches and musical performances. From 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. ET, Progress will be live at the Balcony Ceremony, where civil rights icons and other notable figures will pay homage to Dr. King. The channel will also provide coverage of the official wreath-laying ceremony, culminating in the 6:01 PM Bell Toll signifying the time of his death.
Also on April 4, the non-partisan P.O.T.U.S. channel will remember Dr. King with an original documentary hosted by Tim Farley at 12:00 p.m. ET. “P.O.T.U.S. Remembers April 4, 1968: The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” sets the scene in Memphis, TN, the night before Dr. King’s assassination, as he delivers his final, historic “I’ve Been To The Mountaintop” speech, and continues with remarks from President Johnson and Robert Kennedy once news broke of Dr. King’s assassination. The two-hour special features commentary from historical experts, politicians and modern-day pundits and journalists – including fellow civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis; former Senator Fred Harris, MSNBC’s Joy Reid, and CNN’s Van Jones, as they reflect on Dr. King’s lasting message.
SOURCE Sirius XM Holdings Inc.
http://www.siriusxm.com
