WHRB Special Will Honor King's Legacy

Well-known attorneys and professors will relive the moment of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death on a WHRB news special April 5 at 12:30 p.m.

Speakers will launch a discussion of social issues from a look at King's achievements and commemoration of his death.

"Martin Luther King is the platform for the larger dialogue, where we've come since 1968," said Joseph C. Krupnick '00, news director for WHRB. "The significance of the show is that it's going to focus on the nature of race relations now and over the last 20 years and what we should implement to reduce racial inequality."

The hour-long show focuses on America's ethnic composition, the role of class and poverty in race relations and the post-Civil Rights hip hop generation.

"We think that these are important issues. Social problems have increased over the last 20 years, as well as social inequality," Krupnick said. "People need to be aware of what's going on socially."

Darryl C. Li '01, a member of WHRB who conceived the idea for the show, said the program follows a magazine style, mixing interviews with famous guests with music and WHRB commentary.

"We take three questions: Where are we? How did we get here? Where are we going?" he said. "We break them down and look at them in different ways [through] class, gender, the generation gap."

Li said he thinks the show generally turned out as he envisioned it, but he would have liked more student commentary on the issues.

"The show has a lot of prominent people. The downside is it's a very top-down show," he said. "I would have liked to have students talking to each other."

Li attributed this difficulty to the small number of staff members to conduct interviews and devise ideas.

Li said WHRB interviewed experts in the fields of race relations and urban issues for the show.

The guests include Professor of Afro-American Studies Cornel R. West '74, Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government William J. Wilson, Conrad Muhammed of the Nation of Islam, Winthrop Professor of History Stephan A. Thernstrom, Republican Bob Woodson and several Harvard students.

Each interview addresses a particular issue.

Thernstrom says he discussed the content of his newly published book on racial relations,America in Black and White: One Nation Indivisible.

"King would have been impressed with the extent of black progress toward social and economic equality," he said. "The problems that are most oppressing are not easy to ascribe to white racism."

At the end of the program politicians and scholars share their personal experiences from the day of King's death.

These speakers include West; Patricia Williams, who is a professor at Columbia Law School; King biographer Taylor Branch; assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Bill L. Lee; NAACP Chair Julian Bond; former U.S. Ambassador to the UNAndrew Young and Dean of Students Archie C. EppsIII.

Thernstrom praised WHRB's discussion of racerelations, saying it will make people stop andthink.

"It's a good idea," he said. "There's no moreimportant topic in American life."

Every Sunday at 12:30 p.m. WHRB airsinterviews, often on social issues. But this showis one of the station's few feature shows. WHRB'slast feature was during Chinese president JiangZemin's visit in November

Thernstrom praised WHRB's discussion of racerelations, saying it will make people stop andthink.

"It's a good idea," he said. "There's no moreimportant topic in American life."

Every Sunday at 12:30 p.m. WHRB airsinterviews, often on social issues. But this showis one of the station's few feature shows. WHRB'slast feature was during Chinese president JiangZemin's visit in November