About Our Honorees
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Chief Baba Neil Clarke: Legend Honoree
4 ladies from Black Girl Magic Row
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Ms. Suarez is an active member of our community and a member of the Brownstoners of Bedford Stuyvesant. We honor her as the longest neighbor and community member of the 200 Decatur Street & Stuyvesant Ave. Block Association.
Award-Winning Master Percussionist, Educator, Independent Scholar, Schomburg Center Fellow, and Ifa Priest. Born in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn, New York in 1951, this award-winning musician is highly regarded for his world-class talents.
He has been involved with traditional African drumming and the percussive arts for more than half a century and has made it his mission to continue the pioneering work of his mentors and trainers. He studied and performed with giants “Chief” James Hawthorne Bey and Baba Kwame Ishangi and collaborated with World-renowned artists such as Miriam Makeba and Letta Mbulu.
Clarke also had the honor of serving as the resident percussionist for Harry Belafonte for nearly 15 years, as well as with the late Jazz Master Randy Weston for more than 25 years. He has performed or recorded with Dianne Reeves, Phyllis Hyman, Third World, Norman Connors, David Sanborn, The Main Ingredient, and many others. Chief Baba Neil is a founding elder of Ogbe Sooto Ifa Temple of Brooklyn. A passionate scholar and educator, Clarke has taught at the City College of the City University of New York as an adjunct lecturer since 2004.
He has also created artist residencies, taught master classes, lectured, presented, or served as a moderator at institutions ranging from elementary schools to the halls of higher education around the world. He continues the pioneering work of his mentors by exploring the source, structure, and foundations of the rhythmic dimensions of African culture in the Diaspora.
A master multi-tasker on a mission, Monique Greenwood is the former Essence magazine editor-in-chief who launched Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns in 1995. Her impressive collection of historic B&Bs have included locations in Brooklyn, NY; Cape May, NJ; New Orleans, LA; Washington, DC; Philadelphia, PA; and Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. The former star of her own reality television series on Oprah’s OWN network is also the creator of a bedding and home décor line under her Akwaaba brand sold exclusively at Macy’s. A best-selling self-help author, former Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship at Howard University. Greenwood purchased a block with her husband in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and developed it into an upscale retail strip featuring eateries and shops owned and operated by neighborhood people of color. Monique is passionate about empowering and inspiring ALL people to live their best lives, especially those who are often marginalized.
Doreen DeLeon came to the US from Grenada as a single mother of 3. She was working 2 jobs when a colleague said in passing that she was going to buy a home in Bed-Stuy. It was still the 80’s so Bed-Stuy was very much do or die then. She saved her money and purchased her first brownstone for $60,000.
After 30 years of working for someone, she retired and went on to open her own real estate office, Doreen deLeon Realty. She helped young Black families purchase their first homes and always instructed them to buy a two-family so they could generate supplemental income. She used her homes as galleries to showcase young Black artists from the neighborhood; hosting several art shows.
Over the years she continued to purchase properties in Bed-Stuy with the intent of passing them down for posterity. After her granddaughter Kai presented her with a business plan, she purchased the building that now houses Sincerely, Tommy from an older Black woman that also wanted to sell to another Black homeowner.
Lisa ‘Jelani’ deLeon, Ms. Doreen’s daughter, is a Bed-Stuy homeowner and entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of Sincerely, Tommy and the creator of Sankofa Sanctuary retreat, which brings people back to her native country of Grenada for a full holistic experience through food and spiritual healing. She is also a resident and active member of the 200 Decatur St. Stuyvesant Ave Block Association.
Kai Avent-deLeon, Mama Jelani’s daughter, Ms. Doreen’s granddaughter knew she wanted to open her own store since she was 16. She opened Sincerely, Tommy in 2014, a lifestyle concept store in Bed-Stuy. She wanted a space that represented the little Black girl from New York who loves everything—whether it’s fashion, art, film, or travel. The store features independent designers that hadn’t been carried in any New York stores and a coffee shop/cafe. There is also a marketplace on summer weekends that allows other Black creatives to sell their pieces and have exposure to their audience and the community. ST was the first business of it’s kind on Tompkins Avenue, which is now a major shopping corridor and has become a community space. In 2020, Kai co-founded Building Black Bed-Stuy, an organization that provides community funding to Black owned businesses, mainly in the neighborhood. She also started her own minimalist furniture company, Raini Home.
The EAST was a pan-African cultural organization founded in 1969 by teens and young adults in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Led by educator and activist Jitu Weusi, The East embodied Black self-determination, building dozens of institutions, including its own African-centered school, food co-op, news magazine, publishing company, record label, restaurant, clothing shop and bookstore.The organization hosted world-famous jazz musicians and poets at its highly sought-after performance venue, and it served as an epicenter for political contemporaries such as the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords and the Congress of Afrikan People, as well as comrades across Africa and the Caribbean. In effect, The EAST built an independent Black nation in the heart of Central Brooklyn.
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Representing the legacy of The EAST, Lumumba Akinwole-Bandele is a father, husband, organizer and educator. Lumumba was born into the Black Liberation Movement with his parents being central members The EAST. He was educated at Brooklyn’s premier Black independent school, Uhuru Sasa Shule (Swahili for Freedom Now School). He is the Director of Organizing and Advocacy at the Alliance of Families for Justice and was formerly the National Strategies and Partnerships Director at The Movement for Black Lives. He has also served as the Director of Community Organizing at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, programming coordinator at the Franklin H. Williams Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCC) and co-founded Azabache, an organizers training conference and workshop series for young activists.
As a member and organizer with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement's Brooklyn chapter, Mr. Akinwole-Bandele helped establish its campaign to counter police abuse and misconduct. Lumumba is the named plaintiff in the Bandele v. NYC lawsuit which established that videotaping the police is constitutionally protected. He also co-founded the world renowned Black August Hip Hop Project. Black August raises awareness and support for political prisoners in the United States. He has worked on several successful campaigns securing the release of political prisoners in the US. Lumumba has also served as a counselor and lecturer at Medgar Evers College/CUNY and continues to teach his community organizing class as an adjunct lecturer within the City University of New York. Lumumba currently serves as board member with the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute.
Black Girl Magic Street/Row is the informal name of a collective of black women owned businesses along Tompkins Avenue in BedStuy. They are also Members of the Tompkins Avenue Merchants Association (TAMA) organized by Bridge Street Development Corporation, under the direction of Oma Holloway. Outside of creating a corridor of commerce representing an array of types businesses-food, healing spaces, concept stores, home goods, artisanal goods and more- Black Girl Magic Row has become a BedStuy cultural icon, highlighted by the world famous TAMA fest, which features not only the Black Girl Magic Row and TAMA businesses but an array of small black entrepreneurs and community organizations.
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Black Girl Magic Row Businesses
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Peace and Riot (Achuziam Maha-Sanchez)
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LifeWellness Center (Khadija Tudor)
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Make Manifest (Isha Joseph)
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Ancient Blends Apothecare (Priestess Yendys Nefer-Atum)
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Bush Doctor Juice Bar (Tiecha Merritt, TAMA President)
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Sincerely Tommy (Kai Avent-deLeon)
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Greedi Vegan (Latisha Daring)
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Brown Butter (Myriam Nicolas)
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Mary’s Hands Jewelry (Mary Wormworth)
We want artists to be able to create where they live. We believe in artists’ ability to activate a space, inspire new ideas, and expand the creative culture of a community when they are able to create and share their work locally. We recognize that every community has creators, spaces, organizations, influential people, and resources. We know sharing these resources fosters strong connections rooted in community relationships and artistic collaboration. We also honor the diverse communication styles within our home community and lead by example, treating others with respect and generosity.
Your support aids us in these efforts.
