BRIC Honors 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

On July 11 at the Celebrate Brooklyn! Performing Arts Festival, BRIC will honor the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with Vote, It Ain't Illegal Yet!, a special multimedia concert directed by author/filmmaker/journalist Nelson George. The evening, presented Squarespace, will include contributions from Burning Spear, Vernon Reid, Maya Azucena, Roger Guenveur Smith, Carl Hancock Rux, Ramya Ramana and more. D-Nice provides musical direction. The concert, which begins at 7:30 P.M. with a performance by Fredericks Brown, is free to the public (with a suggested $3 contribution at the gate).

With a combination of film, music, and spoken word, Vote, It Ain't Illegal Yet!ambitiously explores American polls yesterday and today, and celebrates and recognizes the journey we have collectively undertaken towards equality at the voting booth. The show also acknowledges the distance we have left to travel, especially at this time when so many people's voting rights are in jeopardy.

Artists will share their experience of-and perspective about-voting. Burning Spear, Vernon Reid, Maya Azucena and Carl Hancock Rux, among others TBA, will sing songs on the topic. 2014 NYC Youth Poet Laureate Ramya Ramana will perform. In videos that will be part of the show, Roger Guenveur Smith and others speak passionately about what voting has meant to them.

These videos will be part of a film, created by Nelson George, for which BRIC also issued a call for public submissions-photographs, video (maximum 90 seconds), written testimonials, audio reenactments, and more.

A key objective of Vote, It Ain't Illegal Yet! is to persuade audiences to vote. BRIC has partnered with organizations including NYC Votes, Rock the Vote, HeadCount, the NAACP, Voto Latino, and the League of Women Voters, many of which will be present on-site to inform and engage concert-goers.

Other artists will be added to the lineup as the event approaches. Please check www.BRICartsmedia.org for updates.

Fredericks Brown is the musical collaboration of vocalist Deva Mahal (daughter of Taj Mahal) and keyboardist Steph Brown. Renowned for their energetic live shows, rich harmonies and beautifully crafted songs, the duo fuses Mahal's soul and blues roots with the organic Pacific sounds of Brown's native New Zealand. Fredericks Brown has worked with Kanye West and Common, and billed with artists ranging from De la Soul to Etta James.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE ARTISTS

Nelson George: www.nelsondgeorge.net
Burning Spear: www.burningspear.net
Vernon Reid: www.facebook.com/VernonReid
Maya Azucena: www.mayaazucena.com
Carl Hancock Rux: www.carlhancockrux.com
Roger Guenveur Smith: www.guenveur.com
Ramya Ramana: www.twitter.com/Ramyaramana
D-Nice: www.d-nice.com
Fredericks Brown: www.fredericksbrownmusic.com

About BRIC and the Celebrate Brooklyn! Performing Arts Festival

Since its founding as a not-for-profit organization in 1979, BRIC has been the driving force behind a number of Brooklyn's most widely renowned and beloved arts and media programs. In the borough that is now this country's foremost creative hotbed, BRIC is unparalleled in its combination of artistic excellence, programmatic breadth and genuine accessibility.

BRIC presents performing arts (live music, dance and theater), contemporary art exhibitions and programs, and community media programs (Brooklyn Free Speech Television and Brooklyn Independent Media) that reflect Brooklyn's creativity and diversity. In 2013, BRIC inaugurated a new era of service to the borough when it opened BRIC House, a 40,000 square-foot arts and media facility located in the cultural hub of Downtown Brooklyn, featuring a flexible state-of-the-art performance space, a major contemporary art gallery, artist workspace, and multiple television and media production studios.

Emphasizing creative expression as varied and groundbreaking as the borough it serves, BRIC provides opportunities and platforms for Brooklyn artists and media makers to create and present new works. The organization champions the creativity of Brooklyn and work that expands the boundaries of artistic disciplines. BRIC's highly accessible exhibitions, performances, television programs and educational programs serve more than one million Brooklyn residents each year.

The Celebrate Brooklyn! Performing Arts Festival is BRIC's flagship performing arts program. Launched by BRIC in 1979 as a catalyst for a burgeoning Brooklyn performing arts scene, and to bring people back into Prospect Park after years of neglect, Celebrate Brooklyn! was an early anchor in the park's revitalization and has become one of the city's foremost summer cultural attractions. Over its history, the festival has presented over 2,000 artists, from emerging innovators to internationally established performers. Since 2011, BRIC has produced a lively series of dance parties in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Celebrate Brooklyn's Executive Producer is Jack Walsh. The Festival's Artistic Director is Rachel Chanoff. Leslie Schultz is the President of BRIC.

For more information, please visit www.BRICartsmedia.org.

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