Source: Daniel Zuchnik / Getty
Last Thursday (May 14), some of our favorite stars attended the MoCADA Inaugural Masquerade Ball at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where they honored many familiar faces.
Source: Daniel Zuchnik / Getty
The event for the evening was a fundraiser that served to benefit the museum, which also honored names who have positively influenced the Contemporary African Diasporan Arts and the community.
Source: Daniel Zuchnik / Getty
In attendance of the beautiful evening included the likes of Rosario Dawson, Jesse Williams, Estelle, Mashonda, as well as actor Malik Yoba.
Source: Daniel Zuchnik / Getty
While hitting the red carpet, we got a chance to speak with Tonya Lewis Lee, who received the Philanthropic Advocacy Award with her husband Spike Lee, as she shared her candid thoughts on the recent police brutality incidents:
I’m really grateful to all of the street photographers, journalists, and those who are catching these unfortunate incidents on camera. I think they’re showing the world what we’ve known. It’s nothing new. It’s been going on. The new thing is that we’re seeing it. I know that some of them are getting harassed by the police because of it. I think the unfortunate thing, as we saw in Baltimore, and I’m not condoning it, is that sometimes when we protest peacefully, and play by the rules, we are unheard until something erupts. Then there is damage to the economy. I’m hopeful that with that will come change. People are seeing what’s going on, they’re seeing the pain and talking about it. Hopefully we’ll make a difference.
To see some of the pieces included in the auction from the Ball, click here.
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty