Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. encouraged us to recognize that each and every individual has the power to make an impact in their community. This family-friendly program, co-curated with the BAMkids Parent Advisory Circle, immerses young people in art forms that express the importance of acts of service both large and small. Carry on Dr. King’s legacy through collaborative banner-making, coloring, spoken word, and song.
Please note: This event has timed entry. If you are late to your registered entry time you may miss portions of the program.
A Note From the BAMkids Parent Advisory Circle
We are honored to have the opportunity to co-curate this meaningful program for you. Today we reflect on Dr. King’s message on the importance of doing small things in great ways, when he said, “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.” Today’s activities touch on his belief that small acts of service can impact the community and lead to change. We hope these experiences inspire you and your family to create small changes throughout your community.
Please note: This event has timed entry. If you are late to your registered entry time you may miss portions of the program.
A Note From the BAMkids Parent Advisory Circle
We are honored to have the opportunity to co-curate this meaningful program for you. Today we reflect on Dr. King’s message on the importance of doing small things in great ways, when he said, “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.” Today’s activities touch on his belief that small acts of service can impact the community and lead to change. We hope these experiences inspire you and your family to create small changes throughout your community.
VENUE
TICKET INFORMATION
All performances will adhere to protocols developed in accordance with New York State regulations and in consultation with medical professionals for the safety of our artists, audiences, and staff.
Major Sponsor of
The 38th Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
provided by: 
Leadership support for
BAM Access Programs provided by the
Jerome L. Greene Foundation
Leadership support for programming in the
Howard Gilman Opera House provided by: 
Leadership support for
BAM Community programs provided by
The Thompson Family Foundation
Major Sponsor of
BAM Community Programs: 
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11:30am, 1:30pm & 3pmVisions of The DreamYouth poet Jada Wilkinson, a visionary inspired by Dr. King’s dream, shares uplifting words for the younger generation. -
11:30am—12pm, 1:30—2pm & 3—3:30pmCommunity SongDr. King said “Love is the greatest force in the universe.” Love helps us to harness the courage to believe in our worth, importance, and capacity to create change. Teaching artists Okai Fleurimont, Zaven, and Robenson Mathurin lead families in building a community song that explores the ways we can do small things to make a difference in our lives and communities. -
Ongoing throughout each sessionCommUNITY Banner: Share your PledgeVisual artist Lexy Ho-Tai invites visitors to create a mixed-media artwork that represents a small act they can commit to doing to create a better world. These pieces combine to create a collaborative community banner, which beautifully represents everyone’s collective actions. -
Ongoing throughout each sessionUplift Our EldersIn partnership with City Harvest
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” according to Dr. King. Families can spread joy and build community by sharing inspiring words and drawings that will be sent to senior citizens age 65+ with their City Harvest food delivery. -
Ongoing throughout each sessionActivity StationDr. King said, “We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.” Sit down with a BAMkids activity sheet or design a BAMkids MLK Day tote bag in response to the prompt “What small acts would you like others to participate in to create change?” Tote design by BAMkids parent advisor Hectah Arias.
BIOS
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Hectah AriasBrooklyn born and raised, Hector Arias—also known as Hectah—is an artist, husband, and dad. He spent a decade at Mass Appeal as a senior animator and art director. He has contributed to several projects, including Showtimes’ Wu-tang Clan: of Mics and Men, Netflix’s Rapture, PBS’s Nas: Live at the Kennedy Center, and CNN’s Fresh Dressed. His most recent work is as an animator on Apple+ TV’s Louie Armstrong: Black and Blues, which earned him a Cinema Eye Honors nomination for visual design. He was also a teaching artist for award winning non-profits including El Puente, Art-Start, and Americorp’s Public Allies. Hectah joined the BAMkids Parent Advisory Circle in 2022. Hectah joined the BAMkids Parent Advisory Circle in 2022. -
Okai FleurimontOkai is a vocalist, percussionist, and producer who embodies all the music of the African diaspora. Born in Brooklyn of Haitian descent, young Okai was beating on anything that he could get his hands on to help his imagination grow. His ears became infected with the hard boom bap drum loops of hip-hop and roots music from the Caribbean. Those sounds led him on a musical path to find rock, jazz, samba, salsa, rumba, and pretty much anything that involves percussion. Okai began his path of percussion on the trap set playing for various churches, then playing congas for his high school band for several years before being introduced to the West African djembe, which he concentrated on for more than 10 years. -
ZavenZaven is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and producer who uses live looping to create compositions and improvisations. With styles ranging from jazz to hip hop, indie rock to R&B and gospel, Zaven sings, raps, beatboxes, and plays piano to construct songs in the moment. He has performed in such notable venues as the Brooklyn Museum and Hammerstein Ballroom, along with countless neighborhood establishments across the country. Zaven’s mission is to cultivate community through performance as well as challenge himself and others to be courageous in manifesting growth through authenticity and self determination. -
Robenson MathurinRobenson is a New York-based dance artist who performs, choreographs, and teaches Haitian folklore, contemporary, modern, jazz, and Afro-based dance styles. His professional dance career began in 2012 as a principal dancer in the international Compagnie de Danse Jean Rene Delsoin based in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In 2017 he created Robenson Dance & Fitness, a platform aimed at supporting better health and dance training in Haiti and abroad. He has worked with US-based companies including Jean Appolon Expressions, Alison Cook Beaty Dance Company, and Sidra Bell. He continues to expand his choreographic portfolio and training through opportunities and residencies including the Mark Morris Teaching Artist Training Program and dance studies at The Taylor School. Robenson is the Founding Artistic Director of NANM, A Robenson Mathurin Dance Company. -
Lexy Ho-TaiLexy is an artist, educator, and goopy human. Recent projects include: creating a collaborative giant textile monster with 400+ elementary students, building and burning a wearable heartbreak monster, and creating a stop-motion animation featuring tiny textile sculptures of her family. Her practice is expansive and ever-changing but often rooted in exploring human connection, otherness, and world-building through craft, play, DIY, monsters, and collaboration. She’s bad at small talk, convinced that everything is made up, and uses art to explore alternative ways of being in this world. Her work can be viewed at lexymakesthings.com or @lexymakesthings.
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Jada WilkinsonFrom stage to stage and city to city, spoken-word artist Jada Wilkinson has been up and down the East Coast performing original works of poetry. From open mic venues to booked performances, this Brooklyn native was never shy to show cities like Atlanta or Philadelphia her talent. Subscribing to the role of “Unspoken Everything,” she has titled her first collection Lets Make Things Clear, an introspective journey through her adolescent and early adulthood years. This poet is currently in her second year at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, an HBCU in Princess Anne, double majoring in child development and special education. She currently serves as the social media manager for the campus’s Poetry Club and is being trained for the president position. She has been a writer, performer and role model for almost a decade and cannot wait to connect with the world more.
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City HarvestCity Harvest is New York’s first and largest food rescue organization, collecting perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste and delivering it—free of charge—to hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens, and community partners across the five boroughs. This year, City Harvest will rescue and distribute more than 77 million pounds of nutritious food to New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity. Learn more at www.cityharvest.org.
EXPLORE MLK DAY
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CommunityThe 38th Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mon, Jan 15, 2024
The 38th Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mon, Jan 15, 2024We honor Dr. King’s radical spirit at this beloved Brooklyn tradition, featuring Sing Harlem, Madison McFerrin, and a bracing call to action from poet, lawyer, and Freedom Reads Founder Reginald Dwayne Betts. -
FilmRustin
Mon, Jan 15, 2024
Rustin
Mon, Jan 15, 2024FREEA stunning portrait of the man responsible for organizing the 1963 March on Washington who, alongside Dr. King, dared to imagine a more just world.
SUPPORT BAM
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MEMBERSHIPBAM Membership ($85+)
BAM Membership ($85+)
Enjoy half off stages and screens as a member. With valuable discounts, advance access to tickets, and invitations to special events, BAM Membership is your license to see more for less. -
SUPPORTBAM Patrons ($2,000+)
BAM Patrons ($2,000+)
Priority access to premium seats, personalized ticket services, exclusive invitations, and more. -
SUPPORTYoung Producers ($500+)
Young Producers ($500+)
Young Producers are a dynamic group of patrons who share a unique passion for BAM programming and play an integral part in supporting BAM’s work.
