Jazz

Songs of protest, hope and freedom for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

KNKX Public Radio | By Robin Lloyd

Published January 12, 2023 at 6:00 AM PST

Updated January 14, 2026 at 5:21 PM PST

A young boy walks past a painting of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during a Juneteenth celebration in Los Angeles. Friday, June 19, 2020. Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take control of the state and ensure all enslaved people be freed, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) — A young boy walks past a painting of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during a Juneteenth celebration in Los Angeles, Friday, June 19, 2020.

Pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with songs related to the civil rights movement, past and present.

Jazz and blues artists are no strangers to the struggle for equality. Many have naturally set their protests and dreams of freedom to music.

In 1939, Billie Holiday recorded a poem set to music, "Strange Fruit." It described the lynching of Black people in the American South.

In 2019, Quiana Lynell released her album "A Little Love," which showcased her version of Roberta Flack's "Tryin' Times" and the song "Sing Out, March On."

Gregory Porter made the struggle personal with his autobiographical song "Free" from his 2013 album "Liquid Spirit."

Trumpeter Terence Blanchard protested the death of Eric Garner with his 2015 album "Breathless."

Know of other songs of protest, hope and freedom? Let us know at outreach@knkx.org.