{"id":100366,"date":"2026-01-14T19:39:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T19:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/100366\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T19:39:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T19:39:29","slug":"brooklyn-pays-tribute-to-martin-luther-king-jr-with-speeches-song-and-community-service-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/100366\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn pays tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. with speeches, song and community service \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Martin\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Brooklyn will celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 19. <\/p>\n

File photo courtesy Jason Mendez\/Getty Images for (BAM) Brooklyn Academy of Music<\/p>\n

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is Jan. 19, an annual celebration of the life, work, and vision of one of America\u2019s most fervent and prominent civil rights leaders, who would have turned 97 on Jan. 15.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In honor of his legacy, several commemorations are held throughout Brooklyn.\n<\/p>\n

BAM 40th Annual Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr<\/a>.:\u00a0
\n\"\"BAM\u2019s annual tribute includes music, speeches and community. File photo by Lauren Rapp\n<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn Academy of Music in Fort Greene is inviting the community to link arms with friends, neighbors, artists, and civic leaders for a day of reflection<\/a> and family-friendly activities at its 40th annual tribute to the social reformer.<\/p>\n

The celebration starts at 10:30 a.m. at the Howard Gilman Opera House and includes remarks by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II \u2013 Dr. Cornel West once described Barber as \u201cthe closest person we have to Martin Luther King, Jr. in our midst\u201d\u2013 and Citizens Youth Speaker Aponi Kafele, a current BAM Education participant in the Brooklyn Interns for Arts and Culture (BIAC) program and a senior at Essex Street Academy, whose voice reflects the next generation of visionary changemakers. Entertainment includes a special solo performance from \u201cGrace\u201d by Ronald K. Brown\/EVIDENCE,\u00a0 a Dance Company merging traditional African dance with contemporary choreography and spoken word, and musical performances by The Fire Ensemble, led by Troy Anthony, and the Brooklyn Music School.<\/p>\n

The event is free, and tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 8 a.m. on January 19 in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House lobby.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust Mercy\u201d screening at BAM<\/a>:\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

On Jan. 19, BAM Rose Cinemas screens \u201cJust Mercy,\u201d part of BAM Film 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The film, which was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton,\u00a0 is based on lawyer and social justice activist Bryan Stevenson\u2019s memoir and his history-making battles for justice in Alabama, \u201cJust Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,\u201d telling the story of Walter McMillian, portrayed by Jamie Foxx, a Black man wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to death. With the system stacked against them, Stevenson, played by Michael Jordan, refuses to back down as he fights to prove Walter\u2019s innocence.<\/p>\n

Tickets are free on a first-come, first-served basis.\n<\/p>\n

BAMkids MLK Day programming<\/a>: During the Jan. 15 Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., BAMkids offers a variety of programs throughout the day at The Adams Space (BAMcaf\u00e9), reflecting King\u2019s unwavering belief that hope can bloom even in the harshest soil. The activities include a letter-writing project to the kids\u2019 \u201cfuture selves,\u201d planting seeds of encouragement to the person they are becoming, and a Dr. MLK Jr. Bingo, encouraging players of all ages to work together while exploring the history, values, and visionary life of Dr. King.<\/p>\n

While the events are free, registration<\/a> is recommended.<\/p>\n

Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. at the Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum<\/a>:\u00a0
\n\"kidsKids can make protest signs, take part in a march and more at the Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum. Photo courtesy of Winston Williams\/Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum\n<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum in Crown Heights is turning MLK\u2019s dreams into action with two days of service, storytelling and song. Kids can create protest signs and take part in a mini-march with Grammy-nominated musician Fy\u00fctch, create shadow puppets and watch a puppet performance inspired by King\u2019s speeches, take part and community service projects on Jan. 18 and Jan. 19 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by visiting the museum\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brooklyn will celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 19. File photo courtesy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100367,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[46034,2903,98,2905,9346,100,99,46035,4619,46036,46037,46038,25710,46039,46040,46041,46042,46043,9,24,370,63,46044],"class_list":["post-100366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-aponi-kafele","tag-bam","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-academy-of-music","tag-brooklyn-childrens-museum","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-celebrate","tag-events","tag-jan-19-2026","tag-january-19","tag-just-mercy","tag-martin-luther-king-jr","tag-martin-luther-king-jr-day","tag-mlk","tag-mlk-day-celebrations","tag-mlk-tribute","tag-mlk-day-events","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newsletter","tag-nyc","tag-william-j-barber-iii"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}