Greetings! Happy King Day across the nation and to Stevie! On the 83rd birthday anniversary of King, Sunday, Jan. 15, the 14th annual New York Martin Luther King Jr. Interfaith Celebration for Religious and Racial Harmony will be celebrated at multiple interfaith locations with a silent march, prayer, special guest speakers and brilliant choral performances. For a full schedule, and bus info, contact the New York Metropolitan Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolence at (718) 589 7858, ext. 30.
Theater
- Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Angela Bassett and Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson star in the Broadway debut of “The Mountaintop,” Katori Hall’s Olivier Award-winning drama, directed by Tony Award nominee Kenny Leon (“Fences,” “A Raisin in the Sun”). Featuring original music by Grammy Award-winning saxophonist and Tony Award nominee Branford Marsalis. At the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 242 W. 45th St. For tickets, visit Telecharge.com.
- “Black Angels Over Tuskegee,” the story of the pioneering first African-American fighter pilots, now playing at the Actors Temple Theatre, 339 W. 47th St. between Eighth and Ninth avenues. For tickets, call (212) 239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com.
- “When I Crossed That Line to Freedom,” with music and lyrics by Nkeiru Okoye, a staged concert reading of Act I of the folk opera “Harriet Tubman.” One performance only, Sun., Jan. 15 at 5 p.m. at St. Mark’s Church. For more information, visit www.downtownmusicproductions.org.
MUSIC
- NJPAC’s annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration brings together two of today’s most accomplished gospel artists: Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and pianist Richard Smallwood and singer, songwriter and preacher Tye Tribbett, a best-seller on the Billboard gospel charts. Thurs., Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. at NJPAC, 1 Center St., Newark, N.J. This special event also welcomes the Rev. Dr. M. William Howard Jr., who leads Newark’s Bethany Baptist Church and Bethany Cares, as a guest speaker. The night is sponsored by PSEG Foundation and presented in collaboration with the Newark Unit of the NAACP. For more information, call (888) 466-5722 or visit www.njpac.org.
- B.B. King’s Blues Club & Grill presents funkmaster Bootsy Collins Thurs., Jan. 12 at 8 p.m., and the brilliant keyboards of Ramsey Lewis Fri., Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
- At 237 W. 42nd St. in Times Square. For more information, call (212) 997-4144 or visit www.bbkingblues.com.
- The mighty Philly soul of the O’Jays is coming Sat., Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. to the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Lehman College at 250 Bedford Park Blvd. West in the Bronx. The Lehman Center is accessible by taking the 4 or D train to Bedford Park Boulevard. For tickets, call the Lehman Center box office at (718) 960-8833, visit in person Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. or beginning at 12 noon on the day of the concert or go to www.lehmancenter.org.
Exhibitions
- The Skylight Gallery of the Center for Arts & Culture of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation presents “Her Word as Witness: Portraits of Women Writers of the African Diaspora,” created and photographed by Laylah Amatullah Barrayn. On view now through March 31. Skylight Gallery is located at 1368 Fulton St. between Brooklyn and New York avenues in Bed-Stuy. Take the A or C train to Nostrand Avenue. For more information, call (718) 636-6949 or (646) 573-2422 or visit www.restorationplaza.org.
- FILM
- The tribute, “Long Live the Spirit of Dr. Khallid Abdul Muhammad,” featuring the film “The Making of a Revolutionary,” is taking place Thurs., Jan. 12, 6-10 p.m., with doors at 5 p.m., at the House of the Lord Church, 415 Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn. For more information, call (347) 876-0123 or (347) 876-0122.
BOOKS
- In collaboration with Hue-Man Book Store, the Schomburg Center invites you to join NY1’s Cheryl Wills and professor and author Randall Robinson as they discuss his new novel, “Makeda.” Part coming-of-age story, part spiritual journey and part love story, “Makeda” (Akashik Books) is a universal tale of family, heritage and the ties that bind. Fri., Jan. 13, 6-8 p.m. at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd. near 135th Street in Manhattan. The event is free; to register, visit www.schomburgcenter.eventbrite.com or call (212) 491-2040.
- The Ausar Auset Society will host a book party to introduce Ra Un Nefer Amen’s latest book, “Metu Neter Volume 6: The Ra Initiation System,” Sat., Jan. 14 at 5 p.m. The book offers a full curriculum of how to use the faculties of the spirit and 72 mantras (words of power) to awaken and develop the talents you need to excel in your career in law, medicine, teaching, art, community development, business or entrepreneurship. The Ausar Auset society is at 626 Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn. For further information, call Taui at (718) 469-3199, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. or email nvm@nilevalley.com.
Community
- In the spirit of King, Community2Community invites you to the second annual “Hope and a Future” benefit concert for Haiti, Fri., Jan. 13. The concert will feature Haitian kompa sensation Carimi, multiplatinum recording artist Oleta Adams, Grammy Award-winning artist Chrisette Michelle and the Friends of Haiti. The heart-touching event celebrates Haitian resiliency and culture! Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8. At the Walt Whitman Theater of the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, Nostrand Avenue and Avenue H on the campus of Brooklyn College. Learn more about Community2Community at www.community2community.info.
- The African American Experience Forum presents a special screening of “The Witness From the Balcony of Room 306,” directed by Adam Pertofsky. At the Convent Avenue Baptist Church, 420 W. 145th St. on the corner of Convent Avenue in Harlem, Sat., Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. This screening takes place on the eve of the 83rd birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. For further information, call (212) 234-6767 or email contactcabc@conventchurch.org.
- The December 12th Movement presents “We Charge Genocide,” an international people’s tribunal, Sat., Jan. 14 at 12 p.m. at Columbia University Law School, 435 W. 116th St. For more information, call (718) 398-1766.
- CEMOTAP invites you to join the honoring of Evelyn and Michael Tarif Warren and Brother Shep, along with a legal support fundraiser for Brother Shaka Shakur, Sun., Jan. 15, 2-5 p.m. The CEMOTAP Center is located at 135-05 Rockaway Blvd., South Ozone Park, Queens. Admission is free. For more information, call (718)322-8454.
Hear Imhotep Gary Byrd on 107.5 WBLS-FM daily with “Imhotep’s On-Air Guide to Black Events” and “Express Yourself,” Sunday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m., and on WLIB-AM with “The GBE Mind Flight,” Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to midnight (simulcast on WLIB-AM/WBLS-FM from 7-8 p.m.). The full show can be heard on HD radio at WBLS-HD2. IGB is also heard on WBAI-FM 99.5 with the GBE 2.0 “Global Black Experience” and “Global Beat Experience,” Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. We are archived online with both shows at www.wbai.org. To reach us about your event, email gbemail2@yahoo.com, find Imhotep Gary Byrd on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at GBELIFE.