VANCOUVER, Wash. – August marks the 60th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. To celebrate his iconic words, Re-Imagined Radio explores stories behind its origins, context, delivery and reception.
“I Have a Dream: Stories about the Famous Speech” premieres at 1 p.m. Aug. 21 on KXRW-FM (99.9), Vancouver, and KXRY-FM (91.1 and 107.1), Portland. Subsequent broadcasts and streams will be provided by local, regional and international broadcast partners.
King's "I Have a Dream" speech is considered one of the most powerful of 20th century American history. Speaking from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to approximately 250,000 people, he called for equality, civil and economic rights for all people, and an end to racism in the United States. Radio storyteller Jean Shepherd was there and tells of his experience.
King structured the speech in three parts: an introduction setting up the overarching metaphor— that of a bad check the marchers have come to Washington to cash; the “dream” section outlining King’s vision; and the “let freedom ring” section, concluding the speech on an uplifting note.
“With this episode, we remind listeners that 60 years after its delivery, because of entrenched racism and social injustice, Dr. King's dream is still unrealized,” said John Barber, producer and host of the episode, founder of Re-Imagined Radio and a faculty member of WSU Vancouver’s Creative Media and Digital Culture program.
Re-Imagined Radio premieres episodes on the third Monday of the month on KXRW-FM. In addition, every Sunday, an episode of Re-Imagined Radio is broadcast on KXRW, drawing from previously broadcast episodes. Episodes can be streamed on demand from the Re-Imagined Radio website or may be obtained as podcasts. You also can subscribe or download using the audio player on any individual episode page at the Re-Imagined Radio website, www.reimaginedradio.net.
Community Partners
Re-Imagined Radio draws on community voice actors, Foley artists, musicians, sound artists and engineers. Partners include KXRW-FM, KXRY-FM, Marc Rose and Holly Slocum Design.
About Re-Imagined Radio
Re-Imagined Radio was begun by Barber in 2013 to celebrate radio storytelling. ”We select, produce and perform classic and contemporary stories across a spectrum of radio genres, from dramas to comedies, from oral to aural histories, from documentaries to fictions, from soundscapes to sonic journeys, from radio to sound art,” Barber said.
About WSU Vancouver
WSU Vancouver is in the homelands of Chinook and Taidnapam peoples and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. As one of six campuses of the WSU system, WSU Vancouver offers big-school resources in a small-school environment. The university provides affordable, high-quality baccalaureate- and graduate-level education to benefit the people and communities it serves. As the only four-year research university in Southwest Washington, WSU Vancouver helps drive economic growth through relationships with local businesses and industries, schools and nonprofit organizations.
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MEDIA CONTACT(S)
Brenda Alling, Office of Marketing and Communication, 360-546-9601, brenda_alling@wsu.edu