The role of many Black musicians in making the ‘King Holiday’ a reality cannot be overlooked. There’s a great piece on The Grio detailing the effort Stevie Wonder, Gil-Scott Heron and many other Black artists put into making sure the legacy of Dr. King would be acknowledged by our nation.
Don Mizell writes, “Today, I can’t help thinking about the important, often crucial role that black pop music stars, and the black community media who showcased them, played in the struggles for equal rights and justice as they unfolded under Dr. King’s historic leadership….the Herculean effort by Stevie Wonder and others who joined him to commemorate King’s life’s work on behalf of our nation, through the creation of the first national holiday celebrating the achievements of an African American citizen, speaks volumes indeed.”
Stevie Wonder is indeed the one person who we can all look to and say without this man, there would no ‘King Holiday’. In 1980, Stevie Wonder was arguably the biggest pop-artist in the world. Stevie used his platform, passion, and voice to propel the idea of a national holiday celebrating the life of MLK into the national consciousness…and it worked.
Read the whole article here.
