January 15, 2026
The Georgetown University-produced occasion is transferring to a different historic venue in Washington, D.C.
Let Freedom Ring!, the annual live performance celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr., has been a Kennedy Center custom for greater than twenty years, however this 12 months, the occasion may have a brand new residence.
Concert organizers stated they’re moving the show to D.C.’s Howard Theatre to save cash. But some assist the change for causes unrelated to funds.
Marc Bamuthi Joseph, the Kennedy Center’s former creative director, expressed support for the move, noting that Martin Luther King Jr.’s mission doesn’t align with that of the present presidential administration.
“I’d a lot relatively that all of us be spared the hypocrisy of celebrating a person who not solely fought for justice but additionally articulated the case for fairness maybe higher than anybody in American historical past—when the official place of this administration is an anti-equity stance,” Joseph, who was abruptly fired from his earlier position in March 2025, advised NPR.
The termination adopted President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center, throughout which he named himself chair and dismissed a lot of the board of trustees. The president criticized previous Kennedy Center occasions, calling them “woke,” and issued an executive order demanding an finish to variety in cultural programming.
This live performance’s transfer follows a sequence of cancellations and relocations. The Washington National Opera introduced it should relocate its performances from the Kennedy Center, ending a 50‑12 months run there. Additionally, jazz musician Chuck Redd, who has hosted the Holiday Jazz Jams there since 2006, canceled his Christmas Eve efficiency after the Trump administration renamed the ability the “Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
Composer Nolan Williams Jr., who has served as Let Freedom Ring‘s music producer since 2003, wrote a tune for this 12 months’s occasion referred to as “Just Like Selma,” impressed by King’s well-known quote: “The arc of the ethical universe is lengthy, however it bends towards justice.”
Rapper and actor Common will headline this year’s show, which can characteristic the Missionary Kings of Harmony of the United House of Prayer for All People’s Anacostia congregation.
The Let Freedom Ring! live performance for MLK Day will happen Monday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m.
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