The 32nd Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

BAM will host the free annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 15 at 10:30am in the Howard Gilman Opera House (Peter Jay Sharp Building, 30 Lafayette Ave) with civil rights activists, musicians, civic leaders, and the public for a communal commemoration and reflection of the life and legacy of Dr. King. The 32nd edition will feature writer and educator Jelani Cobb as keynote speaker. Additional free events are also scheduled on the BAM campus, including an “Unbound” book launch of When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir, by Patrisse Cullors and asha bandele.

The keynote speaker this year is New Yorker staff writer and Columbia University School of Journalism professor Jelani Cobb. Author of Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress, among others, Cobb is known for his clear elucidation on the complexity of race in American society.

The Tribute features music performances by Martha Redbone and The Brooklyn Interdenominational Choir. Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams serves as the master of ceremonies. Additional participating civic leaders will be announced in January.

A complementary program and part of the BAM and Greenlight Bookstore’s Unbound book launch series is the reading and discussion of When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir, co-written by Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors and author/journalist asha bandele.

The day-of events also include a film screening and the annual community art exhibition, “Picture the Dream,” featuring works by students from the Atlantic Terminal Community Center. Two BAMcafé Live performances by Angela Johnson are scheduled on Jan 12 & 13.