The Night James Brown Saved Boston
World Premiere
Monday, March 31, 6:15 pm
One Guest Street, Brighton
WGBH
Free, but RSVP here

James Brown meant a lot of things to a lot of people, but he meant unity to Boston when he chose to perform here the night after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968. Tensions were high all over the nation, and Brown didn't have to go on stage. But he did. City leaders set it up so that the Boston Garden show was broadcast on WGBH. Brown's performance is credited with preventing riots that were erupting in other cities.

A new VH1 Rock Doc captures this moment, which the Boston Phoenix declared was the greatest concert in Boston's history, and you can see the world premiere at the WGBH studios. After the screening, a panel will take questions. The panel includes director David Leaf; Russell Morash, WGBH producer and director; Charles Bobbit, James Brown’s personal manager; and Northeastern University professor of African-American Studies Dr. Robert L. Hall.

Image courtesy of WGBH.