JAY-Z And Mom Dr. Gloria Carter Honored At Brooklyn Public Library

Preezy Brown
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JAY-Z and his mother, Dr. Gloria Carter, were both honored during a star-studded gala at the Brooklyn Public Library.

The Monday (Oct. 2) night event attracted multiple celebrities, including Questlove who DJed, Baratunde Thurston who hosted, Jelani Cobb who gave remarks, and Victory Boyd, who performed. Senator Chuck Schumer was also among those who were present for the affair. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a native of Brooklyn, was also in attendance and introduced the honorees of the evening.

While Hov was present to give a speech during the reception, he explained that his mother couldn’t make it due to a doctor’s appointment. “I figured if these young men could speak on behalf of their dad, I could speak on behalf of my mom,” he said, referencing a speech from earlier in the evening. “Dr. Gloria had to see a doctor earlier. She’s gonna be very upset that I told y’all that. She gave me a very bad excuse, and I couldn’t do it and lie to the good people of Brooklyn.”

JAY-Z And Dr. Gloria Carter
Jay-Z and Gloria Carter attend an evening of “Making The Ordinary Extraordinary” hosted by The Shawn Carter Foundation at Pier 54 on September 29, 2011 in New York City.

Providing levity by joking that Dr. Carter wasn’t present due to inebriation, he expressed his mother’s desire to address the crowd in spite of her absence. “I think she’s hungover,” he added. “There’s no other way to put it. She wanted to be with you guys, but this is what she would want me to say. Y’all not taping this, are you?” he humorously asked.

The gala raised over $1.5 million and comes amid the Brooklyn Public Library’s Book of HOV exhibit taking over its central branch, mere miles from the Marcy Projects housing complex where the rap legend turned mogul grew up in the borough’s Bedford-Stuyvesant section. The Book of HOV exhibit was first unveiled in July and will be available to view through Dec. 4, which doubles as its subject’s 54th birthday.

See a clip of JAY-Z’s speech below.

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