About

Arlington’s annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be held virtually on Sun., Jan. 16 at 5 p.m. The 2022 program will include music, dance and spoken word to honor Dr. King’s life and legacy. Spoken Word artist Kim B. Miller will share original works. Kimberly Gordon will sing three selections, including Lift Every Voice and Sing – also known as the Black national anthem. Dancer Kamali Hill will perform to Freedom by the Golden Gospel Singers and Mahalia Jackson’s version of Down by the River Side and Malachi Alexander will dance to It Ain’t Over by Maurette Brown Clark.

Watch live on Jan., 16 at 5 p.m. here.

On this site, you can also view content sections with videos from past MLK Tributes and never-before-seen works:

• Content sections with videos from past MLK Tributes and never-before-seen works: 
  • A video compilation highlighting clips of music, dance, spoken word and dialogue from recent MLK Tributes, including: 
    • Remarks from Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti
    • Duke Ellington School of the Arts Show Choir’s renditions of The Best Is Yet to Come and Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around 
    • Original work by spoken word artist Kim B. Miller, Your Calling  
    • Motherless Child and I‘ll Rise Up, performed by the Duke Ellington School of the Arts Dance Ensemble 
    • Scene from the 51st MLK Tribute, performed by actor Deshawn Harris (as MLK) and Yancy Langston (voice of Benjamin Mays) 
    • Arlington native Joy Gardner solo rendition of A Change is Gonna Come 
    • Remarks from Arlington resident Joan Mulholland, activist and educator 
    • Solo dance by Kailah Doles to If I Could 
    • Kimberly D. Gordon’s youth vocal student ensemble, Christian Humphrey, Armani L. Thompson and Baylee Wesson’s rendition of This Little Light of Mine 
    • Freedom performed by Jackie Pate 
    • Inspire Arts Collective dance to Glory 
    • Is My Living in Vain performed by local quartet The Four
    • Spoken word artist Audrey Miller’s performance of her original work Stand 
    • Encore Stage & Studio students perform the scene Change that depicts students’ reaction to school integration in 1959 in Arlington from the 2020 MLK Tribute
    • Lift Every Voice and Sing, produced by Balm in Gilead, Inc. 
  • Specific Music Options 
    • I’ve Been Buked and Scorned, soloist James Gibson
    • I Know I’ve Been Changed, soloist Karen D. Archer
    • Is My Living in Vain performed by local quartet The Four 
    • Changed, performed by Kimberly D. Gordon and accompanied by Kabanya Vinson and V-TRINITY
    • Duke Ellington School of the Arts Show Choir’s renditions of The Best Is Yet to Come and Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around
    • Andrew Smith performance of Take My Hand, Precious Lord 
    • Freedom performed by Jackie Pate 
    • Angela Moore performance of I’ve Just Come From the Fountain 
    • Anne Smith performance as Mahalia Jackson remembering the March on Washington 
    • Roy Patten, Jr. performance of Believe in Yourself 
    • A clip from Larry Bland and the Volunteer Gospel Choir’s performance of He’s Blessing Me 
    • Kimberly D. Gordon’s youth vocal student ensemble, Christian Humphrey, Armani L. Thompson and Baylee Wesson’s rendition of This Little Light of Mine
    • Arlington native Joy Gardner solo rendition of A Change is Gonna Come 
  • Specific Dance Options
    • Precious Lord Take My Hand and Glory, performed by the Inspire Arts Collective 
    • If I Could, performed by Kailah Doles 
    • Motherless Child and I’ll Rise Up, performed by the Duke Ellington School of the Arts Dance Ensemble 
  • Specific Spoken Word Options 
    • New original work, Speak, from spoken word artist Kim B. Miller 
    • Reflections from Encore Stage & Studio students Maddy Sadler, John Monaco and Oliver Meek
    • Original work by spoken word artist Kim B. Miller, including Break the Chains and Your Calling 
    • Original work, Stand, by Audrey Perkins 
  • Reflections 
    • An excerpt from MLK’s iconic 1968 sermon The Drum Major Instinct, recited by Minister Tonia Heggs, Macedonia Baptist Church 
    • Remarks from Saundra Green, who first developed Arlington’s MLK Tribute 
    • Footage from Mr. Milton Lowe of the Arlington NAACP at the 1963 March on Washington
    • A message from Samia Byrd, Chief Race & Equity Officer for Arlington County 
    • Arlington Public Library presentation on Multiracial Coalitions in the Civil Rights Era with George Washington University professor Gordon K. Mantler
    • Activist and educator Joan Mulholland recites a piece about the Civil Rights Movement and her participation in it followed by a performance by The Duke Ellington School of the Arts Show Choir of Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around