{"id":236325,"date":"2026-05-19T03:16:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T03:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/236325\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T03:16:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T03:16:10","slug":"metropolitan-black-bar-association-amplifies-its-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/236325\/","title":{"rendered":"Metropolitan Black Bar Association \u2018amplifies its legacy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVision, service and legacy\u00a0<\/p>\n

MBBA President Nicole Lester Arrindell, Esq., told the Brooklyn Eagle that while the night was an opportunity to celebrate legal leaders, it was also the perfect platform to amplify MBBA\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have had 42 years of excellence, advancing justice, building community amongst lawyers of color in particular, but we\u2019re also an organization that\u2019s been open to all and has advocated for all,\u201d Lester Arrindell said. \u201cI think in today\u2019s times, you really need to have a little bit of joy and celebration among all of the things that are happening in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lisa Arrindell, emcee for the evening, said that for the past two years, Lester Arrindell has led the MBBA with \u201cpassion, purpose and grace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>From left: Hon. Lisa Daley, MBBA President Nicole Lester Arrindell, Hon. Inga O\u2019Neale and President-elect Justina Rivera. Photo: Wayne Daren Schneiderman\/Brooklyn Eagle<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder her leadership, the organization has strengthened its voice,\u201d Arrindell said. \u201cNicole\u2019s presidency has been rooted in vision, service and legacy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

MBBA President-elect Justina Rivera, Esq., told the Eagle that when she becomes president in June, her primary goal is to \u201cbuild upon the organization\u2019s legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is work to do right now, and we can\u2019t come down,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can\u2019t be distracted. We have to make sure that people have a sense of conviction and courage. I\u2019m really hoping to bring optimism and resolve for us to continue to do the work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>From left: Hon. Paul Wooten, Hon. Cheryl Gonzales, Taa Grays, Esq., Hon. Lola Waterman and Rev. Dr. Robert Waterman. Photo: Wayne Daren Schneiderman\/Brooklyn Eagle
\nProviding a voice for Black legal professionals\u00a0<\/p>\n

The MBBA\u2019s purpose is to enhance the status of the lawyer and in particular Black and other minority lawyers; encourage research and the preparation of papers, documents and reports on legal issues affecting the citywide Black community; foster the study of law; encourage the personal and professional development of young lawyers and law students; cooperate with other legal societies and groups; and advance public relations with governmental agencies, lawyers of other nations and the public in general.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The MBBA was created through the merger of the historic Harlem Lawyers Association, founded in 1921, and the Bedford-Stuyvesant Lawyers Association, founded in 1933. In 2017, the Bronx Black Bar Association also merged into the organization, expanding its citywide reach. <\/p>\n

The MBBA is also an affiliate of the National Bar Association, the nation\u2019s oldest and largest network of predominantly Black attorneys and judges.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Vision, service and legacy\u00a0 MBBA President Nicole Lester Arrindell, Esq., told the Brooklyn Eagle that while the night…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236326,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[36577,2470,98,100,99,3308,5786,15313,92470,9,24,5325,63,4116],"class_list":["post-236325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-award-ceremony","tag-awards","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-daily-bulletin","tag-gala","tag-legal-community","tag-metropolitan-black-bar-association-mbba","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-no-paywall","tag-nyc","tag-wayne-daren-schneiderman"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236325","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=236325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}