Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr A 37-Year Beloved Brooklyn Tradition

Fproductions by African and African American artists, including Wolfe, rican writer Duma, Ndlovu and many more. Crossroads received the 1999 Tony Award for Outstanding Region al Theatre in the United States in recognition of its 22year history of artistic accomplishment and excellence.

African-American and so they were bringing together two cultures,” said Kahn. “That’s ethically as well as geographically. Growing up, there was never a sense that we were solely identified by being Black kids in Camden, New Jersey. Yes, we were Black in Camden, but our roots are global. What I’ve always wanted to tell people through Crossroads is that it’s about our roots. As Black people in this country we should not forget or even allow people to think this is all of who we are.” He continued, “There’s much more! The sense of a connecting, having a theater like Crossroads that connects to many different communities in this country and around the world is in order for us to redefine who we are on a larger level.”

trious theater at the end of June.

On January 16, artists, activists, civic leaders, and community members from around the city and beyond came together in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House to honor the legacy and share the dream of Dr. King. The celebration, one of the largest of its kind in the city, was presented in partnership with Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Medgar Evers College, and has been a BAM tradition since 1990.

“During the first part of the pandemic, March 2020, I had been thinking about retiring,” King revealed. “Then the pandemic increased in time. The offices closed down. Then people needed to have shots. I said, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t want to go back to work. I’m 83 years old. So, what should I do?’ I thought, I needed a young person to run it. And that person was Elizabeth Van Dyke, our artistic director. She’s experi enced and understands how to communicate with this generation. And getting that younger person to run it and work with me over the last year and five months, solidified it for me.”

The program, which was also live-streamed, featured keynote speaker Sherrilyn Ifill, civil rights attorney and former president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. The program also featured music performances by Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and activist Allison Russell and the award-winning Sing Harlem choir.

Across the Hudson River, one of the pioneering institutions integrating artists of color and women into the mainstream American theater, Woodie King Jr.’s New Federal Theater (NFT), faces major changes. Founded in 1970, NFT began as an outgrowth of a theatre program called Mobilization for Youth. The theatre’s first season opened in the basement of St. Augustine’s

As millions of people quarantined last year, the aters around the world temporarily closed their doors and we were forced to stay at home without live en tertainment. For the first time, the theater found the need to compete with social media and streaming platforms. NFT embraced change, deciding to shift theater to the digital space with pre-recorded and live

Other notable speakers included NY Governor Kathy Hochul, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, NY Senator Chuck Schumer, NY Congressman Hakeem Jefferies, and NY DA Eric Gonzalez and many other NY officials.

The celebration of Dr. King also included a digital billboardbased group exhibition on the corner of Flatbush Ave & Lafayette Ave. The exhibition titled “Freedom!” featured work by seven Black visual artists, paying homage to the legacy of Dr. King, and encouraged viewers to reflect on freedom and its meaning. Additional programs in celebration of Dr. King included a complimentary children’s program—featuring music, dance, and craft activities throughout the day.