The BMFSL Entertainment Series

There are two elements of programming that the BMFSL Foundation will expose to the black community which is completely absent at the present day. We will target two groups: the adult mature crowd and family programming that includes children. There are no uplifting forms of entertainment in Boston that bring us together as people or

promote voting in a positive manner as in the past Civil Rights Movement. In the Civil Rights era entertainers such as James Brown worked with local political figures to ensure that different music and dance events were held to support Black initiatives. In the President Barak Obama era professional rappers, musicians, performers and athletes were used as vehicles to get Blacks to the polls to vote. Individuals and families in the Black community need to know what it’s like to have a good time together, smile at one another because they are enjoying the atmosphere and are working together on issues and initiatives for a better quality of life.

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The Black community must preserve its cultural and religious beliefs and know and understand that others support their wishes and goals. Blacks also need to learn to exist in environments with others such as with our Jewish partners and allies. How do you do so if nothing exists to motivate the spirit and soul towards happiness.

On April 5th 1968, the night after Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated, James Brown held a concert at the Boston Garden. That morning city officials were scrambling to prepare for an expected second straight night of rioting and unrest. The entire country was in an uproar. A political decision was being made behind closed doors to cancel the concert for fear of rioting. Boston would be nearly alone among America’s major cities in remaining calm and quiet thanks in large part because of a gifted entertainer who no one would ever characterize as quiet and calm. James Brown kept the peace in Boston by the sheer force of his music and personal charisma. In the past events such as these would not be allowed to happen by local law enforcement officials and usually met by violence coming from the very government that are supposed to protect your physical well-being and rights. If voting were happening on the day of the James Brown Show he would’ve had the power to convince Blacks to go out and vote because their spirits were lifted through entertainment.

In our unique programming, the BMFSL Foundation will partner with colleges of music and entertainment that provide that same type of charisma that can impact the community in the same way that James Brown did in 1968. A once-a-month event will be held highlighting amateur talent on all levels. The partnership will be initiated with local colleges and universities of music and their high level of student and professional performers. These institutions of quality and professional entertainment will provide a house band as well as talent to perform in the competition. Between each performance of amateur talent, the host of the show will engage the audience in issues that are directly related to Black community issues. The entire focus of the show is

communicating and engaging with the audience on voting. In the past neighborhoods were governed by generations of families that controlled the dynamics of community participation. With the recent forms of gentrification those families no longer reside in those communities. Now our faith-based groups interact with community residents on a weekly basis with the largest numbers of community participation. Holding these events monthly that will attract over 1500 participants is a good strategy for bringing together the masses and providing them with quality

information on Black voting participation.