MLK Weekend Celebration: Guest Speakers and Community Members Celebrate Historic Swearing In of NY Senator Samra Brouk

Rochester, NY - A virtual swearing-in ceremony for New York State Senator Samra Brouk (SD-55) was held online on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021. The entire ceremony is available for viewing. As the first Black woman to serve as Senator for New York Senate District 55 and the only Black woman currently serving in the Senate from Western New York, the swearing in ceremony of Sen. Brouk honored the history being made while serving as a tribute to the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. The event highlighted and uplifted the diverse voices of our community and kicked off Senator Brouk’s historic Senate term.  

The virtual event was hosted by Norma Holland, a longtime Rochester-area journalist and current director of public relations and engagement for the Office of Equity and Inclusion at the University of Rochester’s School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Sen. Brouk was sworn in by Hon. Karen Bailey Turner, a Monroe County Court Judge. 

Guest speakers included U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, New York State Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, New York Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, former New York State Senator in the 55th District and COVID survivor Ted O’Brien, Pittsford Town Board Member Kevin Beckford, Bloomfield High School students and sisters Sarah and Kira Johnson, and Rochester School of the Arts student Tali Beckwith-Cohen. Rochester R&B/soul artist Danielle Ponder performed.