More on "Voices from Other Lands"

Last week, Yolanda King, the daughter and eldest child of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died at the age of 51. Yolanda King worked to continue her father's dream of racial and social equality through the arts. It's probably safe to assume that here in China, not many people know who Yolanda King was or why Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was such an important figure in American history. Or do they?
 
Caitrin McKiernan, Stanford graduate and producer of a new play about Dr. King in Beijing, believes otherwise. She has spoken to students, taxi cab drivers, and countless ordinary citizens of Beijing over the past three years, and found that most people are familiar with Dr. King. Not only that, but they admire and respect the way he fought for social change.

But McKiernan is doing more than just talking to people. She runs a discussion group and class on Dr. King at the Second Middle School in Beijing. She is also the force behind the play, "Passages of Martin Luther King", written by Stanford History professor Clayborne Carson. The show runs from June 21st to 24th at the Beijing Oriental Pioneer Theater and is the highlight of the city's first annual Martin Luther King Week.

So this week, I caught up with Caitrin McKiernan to talk about what she hopes Chinese audiences will take away from the play.

Tickets to the show are not for sale, but if you’d like to find out how you can sign up for tickets, email me at voices@crifm.com or go to www.stanford.edu/group/king.