Pastor Jamal Bryant & Camye Mackay of the Atlanta Hawks HBCU Honorees

From January 13 to January 15, 2023, Atlanta will be the focal point of a celebration as more than 30,000 attendees participate in The HBCU Culture Homecoming Fest & Battle of The Bands MLK Weekend Edition, hosted by the HBCU Culture Legacy Foundation. The Foundation, founded by Frank and LaKeisha Johnson has a mission to deliver real and reliable resources to HBCU institutions and students. The Battle of the Bands MLK Weekend Edition will take place during MLK Celebration and includes six marching bands from various historically Black Colleges and universities (HBCU’s), joined by alumni and supporters from across the nation. The Battle of the Bands MLK Weekend Edition will take place at the award-winning State Farm Arena.

The weekend will kick-off on Friday, January 13, 2023, with a Founders Gala at Ventanas on Bakers Street in downtown Atlanta from 6:30 – 10:30 pm for 200 guests. Dr. Kevin James, President of Morris Brown College, will serve as chairman of the gala. Awards and honors will be given to community leader and activist, Pastor Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church with a ministry of over 20,000. Joining Pastor Bryant in the honors category will be Camye Mackey, Executive VP/Chief People Diversity/Inclusion for the Atlanta Hawks and and State Farm arena. The purpose of the Founder’s Gala is to support the HBCU Culture 2023 $10 Million fundraising goal to help students become graduates. This event will be a luxury celebration of HBCU Culture with Alumni, Executives & Leaders. Tickets & Sponsorship range from $500 - $50,000. A portion of proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the 2023 Focus HBCU Institution at Morris Brown College. To learn more and secure tickets for the ‘HBCU Culture Homecoming Fest & Battle of The Bands MLK Weekend Edition’ at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 15 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, visit StateFarmArena.com or HBCUCulture.com.

ABOUT HBCU CULTURE LEGACY FOUNDATION:

Approaching his senior year at Johnson C. Smith University, Founder Frank Johnson made the tough decision to drop out of college and help provide for his family after his father, who covered his tuition, became ill. Established in 2018, Founders Frank & La Keisha Johnson, who met through the marching band at JCSU, developed HBCU Culture Legacy Foundation 501c3, with a vision to provide reliable resources to HBCU institutions & students. From year to date, the foundation has successfully provided over $1.9 million in scholarships and educational experiences to over 5,000 students. These much-needed funds help to ensure that no student loses a good quality education due to the lack of funds & will not have to make the same decision as Frank.

ABOUT STATE FARM ARENA

Home to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, the award-winning State Farm Arena is a next-generation sports and live entertainment venue focused on experience, sustainability and service. Inspired by the city, the venue features fan-friendly food pricing, premium restaurant options as well as experiential and celebrity-inspired spaces. In 2022, State Farm Arena became the world’s first venue to earn TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) Platinum certification for zero waste. State Farm Arena consistently ranks among the top 10 concert and event venues in the world from industry-leading publications Pollstar and Billboard. In 2021, Pollstar Magazine ranked State Farm Arena No. 5 on its year-end list of top arenas. Accessible to every fan, the downtown Atlanta arena hosts approximately 175 events and close to 2 million guests annually and stakes its claim as the city’s best sports and live entertainment venue. For more information on State Farm Arena, visit StateFarmArena.com or follow on Twitter @StateFarmArena and Instagram @StateFarmArena.