Tomorrow: Brooklyn Raga Massive at Barclays Center's Ticketmaster Plaza, presented by Tsai Foundation's Social Justice Fund, first of three summer concerts.

Hey, you do belong here, right?

Under the rubric of the Belong Brooklyn, an initiative of the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation's Social Justice Fund (SJF), three free concerts have been scheduled at the Barclays Center's Ticketmaster Plaza.

Tomorrow, from 2:30-7:15 pm, will be the Brooklyn Raga Massive (BRM) festival, followed by theAfroBeats vs Amapiano Takeover Aug. 4 (more here on the genres, one from Nigeria, one from South Africa); then the third annual Angela Yee Day Sept. 1, featuring the locally famous DJ and radio host.

Screenshot from Social Justice Fund

Social justice or community relations?

The series is "featuring"--whatever that means--the Workforce Readiness Awareness Campaign, according to the SJF, which is funded by the primary owner of the Brooklyn Nets, Barclays Center operating company, and more.

That campaign emphasizes "employment equity, via workforce readiness and re-entry programs, as a means of belonging":

To build awareness on this issue, the Social Justice Fund is donating $25,000 to each of [four] Brooklyn-based organizations, recognizing their efforts in workforce readiness and re-entry employment services in the borough.

So, is this social justice, charity, savvy community relations, or all of the above?

Is the SJF spending more on the concerts, or the $100,000 total for the four organizations?

How does this compare to other spending in the pledged $5 million a year over ten years by the SJF?

The answer the first question is yes, but the other two remain open.

As the poster at right suggests, the arena and social justice/community entertainment seem very much entwined.

More on the BRM festival

In the monthly calendar distributed to neighbors, by the way, this was cryptically described as a Brooklyn Raga Concert, from 12-5 pm.

The SJF's tweet accompanying the image at right states:

Join us at the Barclay Center for BRM’s Social Justice Fund Counterpoint series! Celebrate Brooklyn’s culture with diverse, Raga-inspired ensembles. From children’s programs to a tribute to Terry Riley's minimalist masterpiece, experience a global music fusion.

Brooklyn Raga Massive (est. 2012) describes itself as:

an adventurous nonprofit musicians' collective that creates cross-cultural understanding through the lens of South Asian classical music by providing direct support to artists, fostering collaboration through our iconic concerts and jam sessions, facilitating cultural exchange through educational initiatives, and producing transcendent, and often massive, performances, festivals, and one-of-a-kind albums.

It offers more details on the program, which will be moved inside to the arena lobby if it rains:

RM takes on the Barclays Center as part of the Social Justice Fund’s Counterpoint series which brings world-class art and performance to Brooklyn, building on the borough’s rich cultural history, and reaching new audiences.

Come celebrate summer with us as Brooklyn Raga Massive brings together diverse ensembles exploring Raga inspired, creative music. The afternoon begins with a children’s program that introduces both kids and adults to the subtleties and nuances of this non-Western art form. Ragini Ensemble pays tribute to South Asian diasporic roots across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. The journey continues with the psychedelic raga rock of Quadrature while Rasa Yatra celebrates the profound essence of Indian Classical Music. Finally, we culminate in a grand convergence with “In D”, BRM’s original composition in homage to minimalist maestro Terry Riley and his “In C”, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. “In D” blends raga music and Riley’s concepts with 20 musicians playing instruments from around the globe.

Lineup:
2:30 - 3:00 PM | Raga Kids
3:15 - 4:00 PM | Ragini Ensemble
4:15 - 5:00 PM | Quadrature
5:15 - 6:00 PM | Rasa Yatra
6:15 - 7:15 PM | In D

Also see coverage in TimeOut NY.