Metropolitan Black Bar NYC

Metropolitan Black Bar NYC Metropolitan Black Bar Association of NYC

Founded on July 5, 1984, the Metropolitan Black Bar Association was created from the merger of the Harlem Lawyers Association, founded in 1921 and the Bedford Stuyvesant Lawyers Association, founded in 1933. As one of the largest organizations of Black attorneys in New York State, the MBBA continues the rich legacy of its two predecessor organizations by providing a voice for Black legal professionals in the communities it serves. Today, the MBBA is comprised of mostly minority attorneys in large and small law firms, solo practitioners, all levels of government, academia, corporations, financial institutions, not-for-profit organizations and the judiciary.

A new chapter for the Metropolitan Black Bar Association.Last week, members, Past Presidents, judges, public officials, ...
09/24/2026

A new chapter for the Metropolitan Black Bar Association.

Last week, members, Past Presidents, judges, public officials, bar leaders, community partners, colleagues and friends gathered to celebrate the Installation of MBBA’s 2026–2027 Officers and Board of Directors and the installation of Justina K. Rivera as the Association’s 24th President.

President Rivera challenged us with a simple question:

“What are we going to do with what we have?”

Our talent. Our relationships. Our access. Our influence. Our extraordinary network.

That question will help guide this next chapter through MBBA Forward: Advancing Lawyers. Strengthening Communities. Shaping the Future.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, sent congratulations, supported the evening and continues to invest in the mission and future of MBBA. Special thanks to Proskauer for its tremendous hospitality and partnership in hosting us.

This organization belongs to all of us, and moving it forward will take all of us.

We are excited for the year ahead.

MBBA Forward. 💪🏾

Professional Photos By Jay McClinton of Dos Ojos Photography

A new chapter for the Metropolitan Black Bar Association.Last week, members, Past Presidents, judges, public officials, ...
09/24/2026

A new chapter for the Metropolitan Black Bar Association.

Last week, members, Past Presidents, judges, public officials, bar leaders, community partners, colleagues and friends gathered to celebrate the Installation of MBBA’s 2026–2027 Officers and Board of Directors and the installation of Justina K. Rivera as the Association’s 24th President.

President Rivera challenged us with a simple question:

“What are we going to do with what we have?”

Our talent. Our relationships. Our access. Our influence. Our extraordinary network.

That question will help guide this next chapter through MBBA Forward: Advancing Lawyers. Strengthening Communities. Shaping the Future.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, sent congratulations, supported the evening and continues to invest in the mission and future of MBBA. Special thanks to Proskauer for its tremendous hospitality and partnership in hosting us.

This organization belongs to all of us, and moving it forward will take all of us.

We are excited for the year ahead.

MBBA Forward. 💪🏾

Professional Photos Courtesy of Jay McClinton Dos Ojos Photography

Despite their best efforts, we will not be silenced. We are “the people” and we have the power. Let’s show up and make s...
09/15/2026

Despite their best efforts, we will not be silenced. We are “the people” and we have the power. Let’s show up and make sure our voices are heard and our votes counted.

As many as 1 in 4 eligible Americans are not registered to vote or are unsure of their registration status. Be part of t...
09/15/2026

As many as 1 in 4 eligible Americans are not registered to vote or are unsure of their registration status. Be part of the solution and get your community today on .

Check your status at: bit.ly/2025nvrdreg

The Declaration’s Meaning in American Life and LawThursday, September 10, 2026 | 6:00 pm - 8:00 pmNew York City Bar42 We...
08/31/2026

The Declaration’s Meaning in American Life and Law
Thursday, September 10, 2026 | 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

New York City Bar
42 West 44th Street
New York, NY 10036

250 years ago the Declaration of Independence set forth ideals, realized and unrealized, which have shaped America’s promise. Professor Annette Gordon-Reed, one of the nation’s leading scholars on Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration, will discuss the meaning of the Declaration and its impact on our nation.

Annette Gordon-Reed is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard where she teaches law and history. Professor Gordon-Reed’s awards include the National Humanities Medal, presented at the White House by President Obama; the Pulitzer Prize in History; the National Book Award; and a MacArthur Fellowship (known as a MacArthur “genius award”).

Professor Gordon-Reed’s books include Jefferson on Race: A Reader (2026); On Juneteenth (2021); Most Blessed of the Patriarchs (2017); Andrew Johnson (2011); The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (2008); and Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings: An American Controversy (1998).

The first 50 attendees will receive a complimentary copy of Professor Gordon-Reed’s new book, Jefferson on Race: A Reader, and the author will sign books at the conclusion of the program.

Free for Metropolitan Black Bar Association Members
Register to Attend Here:
https://lnkd.in/g4nd6KyH

What happens when an inheritance is interrupted?That question was at the heart of Inheritance Interrupted: Black Massacr...
08/24/2026

What happens when an inheritance is interrupted?

That question was at the heart of Inheritance Interrupted: Black Massacres and the Economics of Violence, which the Metropolitan Black Bar Association was proud to co-sponsor on Martha’s Vineyard.

One of the most powerful takeaways from the conversation was that what was interrupted for Black Americans was never only financial. Wealth was lost, stolen and destroyed, but so too were communities, institutions, stories and connections to who we were and where we came from. In many ways, that violence also interrupted our collective sense of pride and possibility.

Telling these stories matters because there is power in knowing what existed before it was destroyed. There is power in remembering what our communities built, created and sustained. And there is power in reclaiming that history as part of our inheritance, too.

Thank you to Kenya Tyson, Nia Clark, Damario Solomon-Simmons, and B. Seth Bryant for a powerful conversation, and to our fellow sponsoring organizations for making space for it.

We remember. We reclaim. And we keep building.

A new bar year. A new chapter of leadership. ⚖️Join us as we celebrate the installation of the Metropolitan Black Bar As...
08/11/2026

A new bar year. A new chapter of leadership. ⚖️

Join us as we celebrate the installation of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association’s 2026–2027 Officers and Board of Directors.

On September 16, we will gather to formally welcome the leaders who have answered the call to serve our members, advance our mission, and help shape what comes next for the MBBA.

📅 Wednesday, September 16, 2026
🕕 6:00 PM
📍 Eleven Times Square

We hope you’ll join us to celebrate this new chapter of leadership, service, and community.

Leadership. Service. Legacy. 💙⚖️We are proud to celebrate Past President Joseph M. Drayton as he continues a career defi...
08/06/2026

Leadership. Service. Legacy. 💙⚖️

We are proud to celebrate Past President Joseph M. Drayton as he continues a career defined by excellence and service to the profession.

We also extend our congratulations to fellow appointees Hon. Milton Tingling, Sherbune Paul, Esq., Mina Q. Malik, Everett Hopkins, Danielle L. Jones, and all those appointed to serve.

We wish the Committee well as it undertakes the important responsibility of helping identify exceptional candidates to serve New Yorkers on the bench.

MBBA showed up and showed out in Nashville! 💙🏆What a week at the National Bar Association’s 101st Annual Convention. We ...
08/02/2026

MBBA showed up and showed out in Nashville! 💙🏆

What a week at the National Bar Association’s 101st Annual Convention. We learned, connected, celebrated, strengthened relationships, and made some beautiful memories with our legal community from across the country.

And we came home with a lot to celebrate.

🏆 Affiliate of the Year: Metropolitan Black Bar Association

🌟 Nation’s Best Advocates: 40 Under 40: Sonica Dixon and Nate Lancaster

✨ Women Lawyers Division Honorees: Immediate Past President Nicole Lester Arrindell, Director Ernestine Mings, member Yveline Dalmacy, and President Justina K. Rivera

💙 NBA Board of Governors: MBBA President Justina K. Rivera was elected to serve on the National Bar Association Board of Governors

We are proud of every member who was recognized, every member who represented us in Nashville, and the countless members whose service and commitment make the MBBA what it is.

Affiliate of the Year belongs to all of us. 💙

Swipe for a little bit of the excellence, community, and joy that made Nashville one to remember. ✨

📸 Official Women Lawyers Division event photos by Jay McClinton. Dos Ojos Photography

BlackExcellence BlackLawyers LegalLeadership

We are in Nashville and would love meet you! Send us a DM to let us know you are here.
07/26/2026

We are in Nashville and would love meet you! Send us a DM to let us know you are here.

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275 Madison Avenue Fl 14
New York, NY
10016

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