There are tributes all across the nation honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. Here in the city, one of the biggest events was at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Our Micheal Herzenberg has more on the celebration.
Song and dance kicked off The Brooklyn Academy of Music's annual celebration of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This is BAM's 31st annual tribute to the slain civil rights leader — with more than 2,000 people in attendance.
"People should come out and honor Dr. King for his struggle and his legacy and for the great things that he's done for people of all races," said one woman.
Past keynote speakers have included Cornel West, Angela Davis and Harry Belafonte. But this year BAM invited what many in attendance call the next generation of civil rights leaders.
"Dr. King's dream was really about achieving a multi-racial democracy that works for everybody," said Opal Tometi, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter.
The Brooklyn resident hash-tagged the phrase after George Zimmerman's 2013 acquittal in the death of Trayvon Martin in Florida.
The Black Lives Matter protests spread from city to city after the deaths of black men at the hands of white police officers. Eric Garner on Staten Island and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Tometi says she needs the wisdom of Dr. King now more than ever.
"And more than that I need the practice of his commitment to action," she said.
She alluded to President-elect Donald Trump telling audience members to fight against intolerant Muslim registries and deportations that rip apart families.
"When men no better than Klansmen dressed in suits are being sworn into office we cannot be silenced," said Tometi.
One youth leader in attendance said we need voice like this now to bridge a generational gap in order to achieve Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream.