Black-Owned Brooklyn (2025)

18/11/2025

There have been a lot of questions, and a beautiful outpouring of support, since our last post about the present and future of 375 Stuyvesant Ave.

This Saturday, 11/22, from 3–7 pm, — the nonprofit working to keep it community-owned through their BLAC Land Trust initiative — is hosting a Day of Action at the mansion. The gathering will close with a town hall to share updates on the road ahead, answer your questions, hear your ideas, and talk about how we can collectively steward and own this space.

You might know Growhouse from their successful fight to keep the Flatbush African Burial Ground out of developers’ hands — proof of what community power can do.

Learn more about this effort by following . And if you care about saving the Stuyvesant Mansion, join them on Saturday to get informed and organized. Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfnoI43AscZCkqjlpjGtM-XheOGDq1GmR-afMUCWAh7KDkYng/viewform

14/11/2025

So much of our history has already been lost. We can’t let the Stuyvesant Mansion be next: https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-sale-of-375-stuyvesant-ave
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The mansion at 375 Stuyvesant Avenue, once home to trailblazing OB-GYN Dr. Josephine English, is facing a tax lien sale. This puts the historic landmark and community space at risk of commercial takeover.

The Bed-Stuy property is owned by the family of Josephine English, the first Black woman to open a private practice in New York. Dr. English founded women’s health clinics in Brooklyn in the 1950s and 1970s, later expanding her work to include a senior center, daycare and afterschool program.

Shortly before she died in 2011, Dr. English left the mansion to her children, with the stipulation that some of it be used for community purposes. Today it houses a thriving community of organizers, activists and artists.

Although the courts have ordered the mansion’s immediate sale, a new petition calls for 375 Stuyvesant Avenue to be transferred to the BLAC Land Trust — a community land trust that works to reclaim and preserve Black-owned land and cultural spaces in Brooklyn.

The land trust would keep this historic property in community hands, ensuring collective governance and protection from speculation and displacement. Sign the petition at bit.ly/375stuyvesant

29/10/2025

It’s been 30 years since “Vampire in Brooklyn” hit theaters on October 27, 1995.

Directed by genre legend Wes Craven and starring Eddie Murphy as a Caribbean vampire named Maximillian, the film was initially panned by critics for its mix of horror and comedy. But that unique blend is what ultimately made it a cult classic.

In the movie, produced and co-written by Bushwick native Eddie Murphy and his brother Charlie, Maximillian arrives in Brooklyn from an island within the Bermuda Triangle. He’s searching for his last descendant, hoping to preserve their bloodline — when he finds Rita, a half-human, half vampire police detective (Angela Bassett) unaware of her lineage. Shot primarily in Brooklyn, locations included Prospect Park, Brooklyn Heights and the Brooklyn Bridge.

The cast also features Allen Payne as Rita’s detective partner Justice, along with Kadeem Hardison and John Witherspoon, making it one of the few horror films of its time led by Black actors. In his signature style, Murphy plays multiple characters, including Preacher Pauly and Guido the mobster.

“Vampire in Brooklyn” was ahead of its time in its reimagining of vampire lore through a Black diasporic lens, bringing representation to a genre that rarely made space for us. Three decades later, it rightfully remains a cult hit.

17/10/2025

Few places captured the look, feel and spirit of 2000s Brooklyn like Harriet’s Alter Ego.

Co-founded around 2000 by designer Hekima Hapa and business strategist Ngozi Odita, the clothing line imagined what Harriet Tubman might be like in the modern era. Describing their aesthetic as “African superheroes,” they blended bold prints, upcycled materials and Afrofuturist silhouettes with a handmade, bohemian sensibility.

Harriet’s Alter Ego had two locations during its run, first in Park Slope before moving to 293 Flatbush Ave. in Prospect Heights. The boutique functioned as a fashion house, art gallery, performance venue and bustling community space, hosting art shows, concerts, monthly brunches, and “Backyard Couture” kickbacks in its own garden. Its striking designs drew fans like India.Arie, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Amel Larrieux, M.I.A., dead prez and Meshell Ndegeocello.

To promote the brand, Hekima and Ngozi staged “renegade fashion shows” in unconventional spaces like parks, Afropunk (back when it was in the BAM parking lot) and block parties. Though Harriet’s closed its doors in 2009, going out with an unforgettable farewell party, the store’s legacy still reverberates.

The line continued, evolving in 2015 to , Hekima’s solo, eco-friendly version of the brand. Today her main focus is leading , a Bed-Stuy nonprofit, now in its 13th year, that teaches sewing, design and entrepreneurship to youth and adults. Ngozi is the founder of , a Lagos-based platform that supports and connects creators, entrepreneurs and technologists committed to Africa’s prosperity.

But for nearly a decade, they built a magical world inside Harriet’s Alter Ego, where art, community and self-determination collided. They popularized Ankara prints and deconstructed looks long before those styles were trendy, and helped shape a pivotal moment in Black Brooklyn’s creative renaissance.

Big thanks to Harriet’s Alter Ego and everyone who captured these moments:

2 -
4 - Blow Hip Hop TV
5, 14, 15, 16 - (2008)
19 - GMA3 (2022)
20 - (2022)ts

27/09/2025

“Assata Shakur is Welcome Here!”, Republic of New Afrika, Madame Binh Graphics Collective (MBGC), Brooklyn, NY, 1979

This iconic poster was designed and produced in Brooklyn by the Madame Binh Graphics Collective at a pivotal moment. A radical all-women’s art collective that served as the graphic arts and propaganda wing for the May 19th Communist Organization, MBGC routinely created artwork for other organizations and movements they supported.

The poster was commissioned by the Republic of New Afrika in response to Assata Shakur’s escape from a New Jersey prison on November 2, 1979, aided by fellow members of the Black Liberation Army. Three days later, on Black Solidarity Day in New York City, a demonstration of 5,000 people marched from Harlem to the United Nations building, with hundreds of marchers carrying the posters expressing solidarity with Assata.

A true revolutionary who dedicated her life to Black liberation, may she rest in absolute power.

1. “Assata is Welcome Here!” poster, Madame Binh Graphics Collective, 1979

2. Black Solidarity Day flyer, 1979

3. Black Solidarity Day Demonstration at the UN, 1979 (New Afrikan)

4. Assata Shakur in Havana, Cuba, 1998 (Adama Delphine Fawundu, Honey Magazine)

12/09/2025

This week in 1987, Michael Jackson released “Bad” as a single. The song’s accompanying 18-minute video — written by novelist and screenwriter Richard Price, directed by Martin Scorsese, and co-starring a young Wesley Snipes — was filmed largely at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Downtown Brooklyn.

The video follows Darryl (played by Jackson), a prep school student returning home to Brooklyn. His old friends pressure him into petty crimes to prove he’s still “bad,” but Darryl claims his own expression of strength.

Swipe for behind-the-scenes photos from the shoot.

09/09/2025

As classes resume across the city, we remember a Brooklyn legend: Dr. Frank Mickens, longtime principal of Bed-Stuy’s Boys and Girls High School.

Mickens led “The High” from 1986 to 2004 with a firm, no-nonsense approach. He was controversial to some, often compared to Joe Clark, the bat-wielding principal depicted in the movie “Lean On Me.” But for countless families, he was a fierce advocate who demanded excellence and showed young people their potential.

Bed-Stuy born and raised, Mickens took the helm of Boys and Girls High School in 1986, then one of NYC’s toughest schools. He patrolled its perimeter and hallways with a bullhorn and walkie-talkie. He banned hats, flashy sneakers, and gold jewelry and caps.

On “Dress for Success” days, boys wore shirts and ties; girls also wore professional attire. (If a student didn’t have a tie, Mickens provided one.) He introduced the dress code as a safety measure, weary from attending funerals for students killed over their clothes.

In Mickens’ first seven years as principal, the school’s graduation rate climbed from 24.4% to 40.5%. By the time he retired in 2004, it had nearly doubled to 47.5%, with 85% of graduates collegebound.

Frank Mickens passed away in 2009 at the age of 63. His vision and dedication transformed the lives of thousands of students who attended Boys and Girls High during his 18-year tenure.

04/09/2025

We’re honored to share that our documentary “The Sun Rises in The East” will screen at Harlem’s next Wed, September 10, at 6 pm. The film kicks off The Schomburg’s new film series, Black on Screen: A Century of Radical Visual Culture, which celebrates 100 years of Black movement work on film. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-on-screen-teaching-liberation-education-by-us-for-us-tickets-1611667975299

This free event starts at 4:30 pm with short films from the Schomburg archive spotlighting Harlem’s legacy of educational self-determination, followed by our feature presentation at 6 pm.

“The Sun Rises in The East” tells the story of The East, a pan-African education and arts organization that flourished from 1969 to 1986 in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Led by activist Jitu Weusi, The East modeled how a determined community could educate its own and build an independent Black nation.

Starting with the founding of an African-centered school, its members went on to create dozens of independent institutions, including a world-famous jazz club, food co-op, newsmagazine, publishing company, restaurant, clothing shop, bookstore, record label, childcare center and even a farm in Guyana. From Central Brooklyn, it served as an epicenter for political contemporaries across the U.S. and the world.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with us — filmakers Tayo Giwa and Cynthia Gordy Giwa — along with educator Basir Mchawi, a member of The East. As Black thought and history face increasing censorship, join us for this celebration of learning as liberation. ✊🏾

📍 Schomburg Center, 515 Malcolm X Blvd, Harlem
🗓 Wed, 9/10 | 4:30 PM shorts | 6 PM film feature
🎟 Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-on-screen-teaching-liberation-education-by-us-for-us-tickets-1611667975299

30/08/2025

It’s almost time for one of Brooklyn’s most iconic celebrations: the West Indian Day Parade!

The parade’s roots date back to 1940s Harlem, where the Trinidad Carnival Pageant Committee organized it for nearly two decades. But following a violent incident, Harlem’s permit was pulled in 1964. Five years later, a committee formed by Trinidadian New Yorker Carlos Lezama moved the festivities to Eastern Parkway, changing Labor Day in Brooklyn forever.

Today, under the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (), it’s one of the largest parades in the U.S., drawing up to 2 million people each year to play mas and express Caribbean pride.

Swipe through for photos from the 1970’s, ’80s and ’90s that capture the energy, culture and community of our Carnival tradition.

1-2: Martha Cooper, 1980s
3-5: Willie Anderson/NY Daily News, 1995
6: William Gedney, 1978
7: Kevin Bubriski, 1980
8: Mariette Pathy Allen, 1980s
9: NY Daily News, 1998
10: Chester Higgins Jr./New York Times, 1990
11: Ricky Flores, 1987
12: NY Daily News, 1997

20/08/2025

Photos submitted by ._52

“These photos were taken between 1989 and 1991 at Visions, a Black-owned video store in Fort Greene where I worked.

We specialized in new releases, independent and foreign films, and Black classics. More than that, Visions was where people came to talk movies, have cultural debates and encourage local creatives. was a member and loaned us props from ‘Do the Right Thing,’ which we displayed in our storefront window to promote the film when it opened.

Other members at Visions included , and Ed Wheeler. It was the height of a Black renaissance in Fort Greene — the area was known as ‘Brooklyn Boheme’ — with a convergence of filmmakers, musicians, comedians, actors, singers, designers, artists and writers living there.

With competition from Blockbuster, Visions, like many other mom & pop video stores, ended its run in 1997. What I remember most from my time there is the camaraderie among residents and business owners of color. We supported each other’s businesses, including Octagon Hardware, Elly’s Market and Behrens Pharmacy, which is still there on DeKalb and Clermont.

The neighborhood was vibrant, culturally rich and connected. A lot different than it is now, as gentrification has buried much of that era’s vitality. We understood that pouring into one another was a form of community care.” —Wendell (._52)

We’d love to see your memories! Submit photos and stories to [email protected].

07/08/2025

Photo submitted by

“This is my older brother, me in the sandals and socks, and my two aunts in front of the house where I grew up in East New York — a house my family still owns to this day. This photo was likely taken in 1988 or ’89, when my aunts’ friend decided to take us all to Coney Island.

I didn’t realize how young they must have been back then, but my aunts were strong women who helped raise my brother and me. I looked forward to heading to the beach with them every summer. I cherish the roots they laid and the privilege of growing up in Brooklyn.” —Lamarr ()

We’d love to see your memories! Submit photos and stories to [email protected].

30/07/2025

Photos submitted by .conjured.life

“When I was younger, my parents had a brownstone on Park Place in Park Slope. That’s me on our neighbor’s stoop, in the mid ‘70s.

There were lots of other kids on our street, and, as city kids do, we made our own fun. But my mother, Nancy, had big plans: she wanted to throw block parties for the neighborhood.

It proved challenging to get the city to pay for stuff and allow the permits, but my mother persevered and got the PAL (Police Athletic League) and the block association to provide recreational equipment. Our street was closed to traffic ALL summer from 11 to 6. For playing!!

When I feel like giving up in the face of unreasonable, uncaring or lazy officiousness, I remember how my mother moved mountains.

I remember summer days of free, safe play. I can almost hear the sound of R&B, Caribbean, African and Latin music; smell the food; feel our smooth brownstone stoop beneath me; see us kids pushing in and out of the fire hydrant fountain, screaming with joy.

I was so lucky to have had that time in such a loving, diverse hood. It made me who I am, as did having a mother who set the fearless example of not giving up and not letting the bastards grind her down.” —Joy (.conjured.life)

We’d love to see your memories! Submit photos and stories to [email protected].

Black-Owned Brooklyn

18/11/2025

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29/10/2025

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27/09/2025

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