State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie spoke to a crowd of residents on the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and the future of criminal justice reform at North Central Bronx Hospital’s (NCBH) Black History Month Celebration, a first for the state’s first African American speaker.

Heastie, whose public visit to NCBH was rare, reflected on his accomplishments as a head of state, including the raising of minimum wage to $15 an hour. He also spoke on education, saying, “We’ve added over $6 billion in education funding since I became speaker. We increased the opportunity programs for people wanting to go to college by 40 percent.”

Heastie took the moment to address concerns on the state’s new controversial bail reform measures, defending his position that it was necessary legislation. He referred to a figure that although blacks and Latinos comprise around 30 percent of the state population, they occupy almost 80 percent of its prison population. There’s an effort now under way to tweak some of the measures to bail reform, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo announcing it will be a line item in the state budget that’s due in April.

Heastie has a long history in the Bronx. He’s represented the 83rd District, spanning from Williamsbridge to Baychester, since taking state office in 2000. In 2015, He was unanimously elected Speaker by Assembly Democrats. He also teaches personal finance as an adjunct professor at Monroe College.

Before the talk, lunch was served to a large crowd of medical staff and community leaders. The room, overlooking the Norwood neighborhood and the distant Manhattan skyline, was lined with photos of historical black figures. Several people shared their thoughts with Norwood News when asked what Black History Month means to them.

David A. Leon, a local resident, said, “It means a lifetime. It’s a way of life that our ancestors paved the way for. And also that history gave us where we are now so that we can continue to progress. It’s a legacy.”

When asked what he saw in the future of the Civil Rights Movement, he responded, “It’s about education. The cutting edge is for everyone to come together.”

Community Board 12 member Esmie Fraser said, “It’s a historic time. It shows what we’ve gone through, where we are, and where we expect to go.”

And when asked what historical black figures inspire her, she said, “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., [U.S. Supreme Court Justice] Thurgood Marshall, and [Congressman] Elijah Cummings, who just left us.”

Black History Month was officially celebrated for the first time in 1970, but the tradition goes back to the early 20th century. The month of February was chosen because it holds both the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and slavery abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

The Feb. 21 event was organized by Cristina Contreras, NCBH’s executive director. Contreras introduced Heastie to a room filled with applause, after which lunch was served and prayers were said. The celebration included a violin performance of “We Are the World” by Hayden Hemmings, a 7-year-old musician from the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning, and a song by American Idol contestant and Bronx local Chalange Francoise.