BAM to Host the 34th Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

BAM will host the annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 20 at 10:30am in the Howard Gilman Opera House (Peter Jay Sharp Building, 30 Lafayette Ave). The celebration brings together artists and civic leaders to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. King. The 34th annual celebration will feature the creator of New York Times Magazine's acclaimed 1619 Project Nikole Hannah-Jones as keynote speaker. Additional free film, art, and music events are also scheduled on the BAM campus over the preceding weekend.

"Many of the sources of uncertainty and instability that we feel as a nation were addressed by Dr. King," said BAM President Katy Clark. "His legacy continually inspires our own work at BAM toward anti-oppression. As does the work of Nikole Hannah-Jones, who marries her broad analysis of structural racism and civil rights with an advocacy for public education-not to mention a strong commitment to Brooklyn.

The keynote speaker this year is the award-winning investigative reporter covering racial justice for The New York Times Magazine, Nikole Hannah-Jones. With her unvarnished look at the role of slavery and its legacy on the making of our nation, Hannah-Jones tells us that "without the idealistic, strenuous, and patriotic efforts of Black Americans, our democracy today would most likely look very different-it might not be a democracy at all." The award-winning journalist created The New York Times Magazine's 1619 Project, a multi-media initiative marking the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Black people in Jamestown, VA, the system of slavery that followed, and its enduring legacy in America.

The tribute features music performances by Son Little and The Brooklyn Interdenominational Choir. Participating civic leaders to be announced.

The day's events include a film screening of Aretha Franklin's revelatory concert film Amazing Grace and the annual community art exhibition, "Picture the Dream," featuring works by students from the New York City Housing Authority. The preceding weekend features BAMcafé Live performances by Blak Emoji with Starchild & The New Romantic and The 1865 with Major Taylor. Performances are curated by Black Rock Coalition, a New York-based artists' collective and non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the creative freedom and works of Black musicians.

All events are free. The tribute tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-seated basis starting at 8am in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House lobby. For further information, please call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 or visit BAM.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.