By Dan Yount
The Cincinnati Herald
The highlight of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center’s MLK Day activities was a one-hour performance by Adrian Dunn and Chicago’s only all-Black professional choral ensemble, The Adrian Dunn Singers. Dunn is an acclaimed singer, composer and conductor who most recently was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Live Sound for his PBS special performance of “Emancipation” at Harris Theater, which is currently streaming in rotation on PBS.
“Emancipation” was composed by Dunn and performed by the Adrian Dunn Singers and the Rize Orchestra, fusing classical, gospel, hip hop and spirituals to explore the question: What does it mean to be Black and free in America in the 21st century?
Woodrow Keown Jr., President and COO of the Freedom Center. “As we reflect upon Dr. King’s legacy and celebrate his life, we’re honored to do so with our community. Together, we connect across generations, across politics, across identities to remind ourselves from where we have come, what we have accomplished and how far we still must go in this march toward justice and equity.”
The Freedom Center’s annual celebration of the life and leadership of Dr. King had the them of Advocacy & Action and featured a keynote by Dr. Adren Wilson, vice president of Youth Opportunity Programs for the Obama Foundation and executive director of its My Brother’s Keeper Alliance.
Wilson noted King’s spirit of advocacy and action.
Woodrow Keown Jr., President and COO, Freedom Center, welcomed guests to the King Legacy Celebration. Photo by Dan Yount 
Victoria Ellington, soprano, Cincinnati Opera, accompanied by the Rev. Marcellene at the piano, sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to open the King Legacy Celebration. Photo by Dan Yount 
Jasmine Styles, WCPO Channel 9 Anchor, served as Emcee of the event. Photo by Dan Yount 
Adren Wilson, Executive Director, My Brothers Alliance, was the keynote speaker at the King Legacy Celebration. Photo by Dan Yount 
The Adrian Dunn Singers, from Chicago who have performed internationally, highlighted the Freedom Center MLK Day events. Photo by Dan Yount 
These students provided comments at the King Legacy Celebration at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Monday morning. The Lifting Teen Voices members who participated are, from left, Layla Walton, St. Ursula Academy, Tamia Davis, St. Ursula Academy, Sidney Brown, Walnut High High School, and Ariella Scoburgh. Photo by Dan Yount
Martin Luther King was able to face police brutality, threats to him and his family, and an unfavorable Harris Poll rating of 75 percent,” Wilson said. “ But the strength of the Black church was embedded in his DNA, and the essence of his spirit is connected to us for us to pass on to other generations as attempts are still being made to erase us.”
He added that young people have always been a constant for change and justice, and he praised their support and the support of those White people and Jewish individuals who supported the movement from the beginning.
“We have always needed the fearlessness of youth and the people on the ground,” he added. “It is not enough to attend endless meetings and marching in the streets of Cincinnati. We must join the many people who have taken action (to advance the cause of justice) today, for we still have inequality and the poor. We still have a long way to go.”