22
HAPPENINGS
The Building Black Bed Stuy Market Place on a sunny Sunday in April. Photos by Cate Corcoran.
Building Black Bed Stuy
by NADIA NEOPHYTOU
For a handful of weekends in the fall of 2020, the
corner of Tompkins and Monroe in Bed Stuy came
alive in a way it hadn’t since the start of the global
pandemic. Vibrant block parties — masked up, as
socially distant as possible — of the best kind, with
food and goods on sale, took over the heart of Brooklyn,
bringing together a community that had been
deeply affected by COVID-19.
The events were hosted as part of Building Black Bed
Stuy, an initiative created by Sincerely Tommy’s Kai
Avent-deLeon, along with friends Nana Yaa Asare-
Boadu and Rajni Jacques. The aim was, and still is,
to bring Black-owned businesses into a space where
they’re appreciated and supported. The Market Place
weekend gatherings are a physical manifestation
of Building Black Bed Stuy’s greater aim of selfsufficiency
and liberation, through raising money for
local organizations that are uplifting the community.
“Essentially, for us, Building Black Bed Stuy is a longstay,”
Jacques tells Brownstoner. “Everything that we
do is to serve the community — in whatever capacity
we can. We’re three Black women who have full-time
jobs, raising families, and so getting our hands in a lot
of different things can be a lot but we love doing this
because we’re doing it for our people.”
Founded in an attempt to curb the negative impacts
of gentrification on the neighborhood, the initiative
took on more resonance in the face of the pandemic.
Businesses and organizations hardest hit by
COVID-19 needed a lifeline. Building Black Bed Stuy
provided it in the form of a GoFundMe, with the goal of
raising $75,000. It’s far exceeded that, with more than
$100,000 donations received and counting.
For the first round of support, Building Black Bed Stuy
helped three beneficiaries — Black Power Blueprint,
Life Wellness Center, and the Watoto Freeschool.
Jegna Mama Umineefa, aka Mama Umi, who runs
Watoto, an independent school for children of African
descent that was shut down due to COVID-19,
says she was struggling and wouldn’t have made
it through without help. “I was able to reopen the
school and move into a bigger location. We went from
a 250-square-foot location with no bathroom to a
750-square-foot space with two floors, a backyard and
two bathrooms,” she tells Brownstoner. “I am extremely
grateful. I would not be here, able to help almost 18
families thrive in our community, if it had not been for
Building Black Bed Stuy.”
Their next round of donations will go to three other
local organizations, nominated by the community itself
— Little Sun People, Dwana Smallwood Performing
Arts Center, and The Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer
Ambulance Corps. “What’s been a surprise is how many
outsiders, in the sense of allyship we’ve seen, from
people not of color,” adds Jacques. “We hope more
people get on board because we need support to fund
these businesses.” Building Black Bed Stuy is also applying
for 501(c) status so that it can help boost education,
health, and wellness in Bed Stuy on a larger scale. And
those epic block parties are back again too.