Be Who We Ought to Be

In solidarity with the Greater Rochester Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, Flower City Arts Center will honor Dr. King's legacy through collaborative artistic expression.

On Tuesday, January 9, from 4 - 8pm we invite you to explore the intersection of race, mental health, and the arts through spoken word performance, letterpress poster printmaking, conversations on culture, yoga/meditation, and poetry workshops. Hosted by our Community Outreach Director Rashaad Parker, our special guests include Chi the Realist, Shaq Payne, Anderson Allen, Rhonda Walker, Teresa Stewart, and Ya’qub Shazbazz.

Connect with us again on Friday, January 12, from 4 - 8pm for a time of community-building as we provide dinner from Livie's Jamaican Restaurant, music by the Ryan Johson Trio, and the opportunity for family/group and individual portraits by Inner Glow Photography. Pre-registration is highly encouraged at bit.ly/BeFCAC.

FCAC is embracing Dr. King's message of interconnectedness and communal growth through “be[ing] who we ought to be" - by creating safe spaces where people of all backgrounds implement the arts to uplift ourselves and one another in the spirit of Dr. King's words written from Birmingham Jail.

"Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality."

We recommend watching Dr. King's reading of the letter in full here.

This event is free and open to the public. We look forward to seeing you at 713 Monroe Ave!