The 38th Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hello, and welcome!

Since its founding in 1861, BAM has served Brooklyn as a community center, a school, a church, a movie palace, a spectacular opera house, and one of the best theaters on the globe. Today BAM is all of these things as we gather to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

In our beloved borough, where creativity and diversity intersect, Dr. King's message resonates powerfully. The arts have the extraordinary ability to transcend boundaries, challenge perceptions, and bring people together. Dr. King understood this, recognizing that cultural expression is a potent force for change.

His dream of a harmonious and inclusive society manifests on our stages and screens. Artists from down the block and around the world present works that serve as powerful reminders of the ongoing struggle for justice as well as our shared humanity.

As we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today let us recognize the artists who, through their creativity, contribute to the ongoing dialogue on civil rights and social justice. His legacy lives on not only in our hearts and minds but also in the vibrant tapestry of artistic expression that defines our cultural landscape.

Thank you for joining us for a day of reflection, enlightenment, and fellowship. May we continue to draw inspiration from Dr. King's vision, fostering a community where the arts serve as a catalyst for positive change, pushing us toward a more just, equitable, and united future.

Gina Duncan
BAM President

Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet and lawyer. A 2021 MacArthur Fellow, he is the Founder and CEO of the Freedom Reads, an organization that opens libraries in prisons, transforming cellblocks into Freedom Libraries. For over twenty years, he has used poetry and essays to explore the world of prison and the effects of violence and incarceration on American society. The author of a memoir and three collections of poetry, he transformed his latest poetry collection, the American Book Award-winning Felon, into a solo theater show. In 2019, Betts won the National Magazine Award in the Essays and Criticism category for his NY Times Magazine essay that chronicles his journey from prison to becoming a licensed attorney. He has been awarded a Radcliffe Fellowship from Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Emerson Fellow at New America, and most recently a Civil Society Fellow at Aspen. Betts holds a J.D. from Yale Law School.

Elected as the first Latino Brooklyn Borough President, Antonio Reynoso is a native Brooklynite, born and raised along with two sisters in South Williamsburg to Dominican immigrants. He attended La Salle Academy on a full scholarship and received a B.A. in Political Science from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, also on a scholarship.

After graduation, he returned to Brooklyn and began working for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), an international collection of autonomous community-based organizations that advocated for low- and moderate-income families.

In 2009, he joined the staff of City Councilwoman Diana Reyna, working in constituent services, and quickly rose to become Chief of Staff. In 2014 Reynoso ran for Council District 34, representing portions of Bushwick, Greenpoint, and Williamsburg in Brooklyn, and Ridgewood, Queens.

As a member of the City Council, Antonio Reynoso demonstrated his commitment to advocating for the residents he represented and the thousands more throughout the city with similar needs. He focused his energy on quality-of-life issues, including waste management, policing, tenant safety, transportation, and land use, where he advocated for Bushwick, Brooklyn's rezoning.

Elected as the first Latino Brooklyn Borough President, Antonio Reynoso is a native Brooklynite, born and raised along with two sisters in South Williamsburg to Dominican immigrants. He attended La Salle Academy on a full scholarship and received a B.A. in Political Science from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, also on a scholarship.

After graduation, he returned to Brooklyn and began working for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), an international collection of autonomous community-based organizations that advocated for low- and moderate-income families.

In 2009, he joined the staff of City Councilwoman Diana Reyna, working in constituent services, and quickly rose to become Chief of Staff. In 2014 Reynoso ran for Council District 34, representing portions of Bushwick, Greenpoint, and Williamsburg in Brooklyn, and Ridgewood, Queens.

As a member of the City Council, Antonio Reynoso demonstrated his commitment to advocating for the residents he represented and the thousands more throughout the city with similar needs. He focused his energy on quality-of-life issues, including waste management, policing, tenant safety, transportation, and land use, where he advocated for Bushwick, Brooklyn's rezoning.

As two-time Chair of the Sanitation Committee, he led the charge to reduce the tonnage of trash in Northern Brooklyn by 50 percent. As thousands of Black and Latino New Yorkers were arbitrarily being stopped and frisked by members of the NYPD, Reynoso was instrumental in the passage of the Right to Know Act. Witnessing the rise of harassment of building tenants by unscrupulous landlords using construction and repairs as modes of harassment by making residency untenable, Reynoso had a crucial role in passing the Tenant Safety Act to protect tenants' rights.

Now, Reynoso is serving Brooklyn to make the borough the progressive capital of the world by building on his extensive record in the City Council. Reynoso's twin guiding principles have always been justice and equity. He has vowed to fight daily to give all Brooklynites the opportunity to thrive and succeed.

Independent artist and musician Madison McFerrin has come into her own, with three self produced EPs and numerous performances and curatorships. Her distinct vocal stylings blend R&B, pop, soul, and jazz. Questlove dubbed her early sound “soul-appella” and AdHoc described her work as “an oasis of serenity.” Madison is often looking towards inner liberation. Whether she is writing about understanding one’s intuition or cyclical violence, she explores how to get free and care for oneself along the way. She works at the intersection of artistry and community building, and has prioritized the work of women and POC in her curatorial tenures at venues like C'mon Everybody, the WNYC Greene Space, and the BRIC Jazz festival. The result is an enduring commitment to finding ways to think better, express ourselves honestly, and nurture a sense of possibility.

Originally the breakout choir for Mama Foundation for the Arts School of Gospel, Jazz, and R&B Arts, this award-winning choir has flourished under Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson's direction, serving as a social impact initiative for young alums and a commercial choir. The Sing Harlem choir has performed at Lincoln Center, the Grammy Awards, and Saturday Night Live—among other destinations—and accompanied artists including Sting, Arianna Grande, and Madonna. Recent television appearances include The Kelly Clarkson Show, America's Got Talent, and Live with Kelly and Ryan. All proceeds from their performances benefit the Mama Foundation's music training programs, which are provided to the Harlem community tuition-free.

ASL Interpretation provided by SignNexus.

SignNexus partners with public and private institutions to effectively accommodate the varying linguistic needs and personal identities of those who are Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing. A certified Minority-and-Woman Owned Business and interpreter-owned agency, SignNexus develops strong relationships with clients, consumers, and providers to guarantee an exceptional quality of Sign Language Interpreting and Realtime Captioning (CART) Services on-site throughout the NYC Metropolitan region and remotely worldwide.