The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day concert in Washington, D.C. is moving from the Kennedy Center after more than two decades.
According to NPR, this year's "Let Freedom Ring" concert, headlined by actor and rapper Common, will take place at the historic Howard Theatre rather than the Kennedy Center, which has hosted the MLK celebration since its inception.
Georgetown University, which produces the event, said the relocation is primarily to save money. The concert has featured music legends such as Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, and Chaka Khan, accompanied by a choir composed of singers from D.C.-area churches and Georgetown University students.
Marc Bamuthi Joseph, former Kennedy Center artistic director for social impact, said moving the concert makes sense given the current leadership at the Kennedy Center. Joseph, who helped shape the program in past years, left the Kennedy Center in March 2025 after the social impact division was dissolved and he was laid off.
“It wouldn’t make sense to hold it at the Kennedy Center this year,” Joseph said, referencing the Trump administration’s “anti-equity” stance.
Music producer Nolan Williams Jr., who has overseen the concert since 2003, echoed Bamuthi’s sentiments, saying the move allows the event to remain true to its mission.
This year’s performance will feature a new piece by Williams titled “Just Like Selma,” inspired by King’s famous quote: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” The piece incorporates action words like “protest,” “resist,” “endure,” “agitate,” and “fight hate” to highlight responsibility and activism.
“The arc doesn’t just happen to move. We have to be agents of change. We have to be active arc movers, arc benders,” Williams said of the piece.
The Kennedy Center has become a target of the Trump administration, which has criticized past programming as “woke” and issued executive orders to curb diversity-focused programming. In December 2025, the Center was renamed the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, prompting several performers and organizations to leave.
Despite the move, the concert aims to continue honoring King’s legacy and inspiring social action in the D.C. community.
“You celebrate the time that was and the impact that has been and can never be erased. And then you move forward to the next thing," Williams said.
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