Fern GillespieThe Emancipation Proclamation abolished slavery throughout the United States when it was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863; yet slavery did not end in Texas until June 19, 1865. Black people remained enslaved in Texas for over two years under...
Fern GillespieCaregiving has become a way of life for millions of people. They are caring for an elderly parent, a sick relative or friend or even a grandchild. Many caregivers are a part of the “sandwich generation,” balancing jobs, families, and personal responsibilities while...
Fern GillespieA major Brooklyn energy collaboration has been created partnering National Grid Foundation, Brooklyn Org and Brooklyn nonprofits that prepares residents for careers in the growing energy sector and supports residents with home heating and efficiency upgrades.
It’s the Brooklyn Energy Initiative, a $700,000 boroughwide...
by Fern Gillespie
The Apollo Theatre is entrenched in Black music culture and Brooklyn resident Billy Mitchell has witnessed that superstar history during the last 60 years. He’s called “Mr. Apollo.” A charming storyteller, his impact has earned him the official title of Apollo’s Director...
Fern Gillespie
For Beverly Tillery, Interim Executive Director of Brooklyn Movement Center, the origin of her work in social justice organizing began over 30 years ago challenging the food deserts in Brooklyn. Since then, the Washington DC native has earned a national recognition as a...
Fern GillespieSince the Reconstruction Era, Black colleges and universities have nurtured generations of Black graduates in scholarly achievement and community pride. Now, a new study has been released observing that attending a historically Black college or university (HBCU) as a young adult may be...
By Fern GillespieWhether it’s her day job as an acclaimed hair stylist and wigmaker for television, film and theatre or her passion project as a renowned doll artist, Brooklyn resident Valerie Gladstone creates memorable images with style.
As the founder of Brooklyn Dollworks, her one-of-a-kind...
Fern GillespieWhen the Bridge Street Development Corporation (BSDC) Board of Directors recently appointed Rev. Valerie Cousin as its interim chair, she had already served 27 years as a key member of the BSDC board. Over the decades, she had been an active BSDC board...
Fern GillespieLurita (LB) Brown, owner of Clinton Hill Simply Art & Framing Gallery, is renowned in Brooklyn for her high-quality custom framing of visual arts.This year marks Clinton Hill Simply Art & Framing Gallery’s 35th anniversary. However, Brown‘s expertise in visual media predates her...
Fern GillespieWhile most retirees downsize their lives, Victor and Sharon Holliday decided to clean up with a new business career--laundromats. Launched in 2019, their laundromat chain, Stuy Wash N Dry, now has seven stores in Brooklyn.
It began as a retirement project to go into...
By Fern GillespieLegendary griot theatre producer-director Woodie King, Jr, The King of Black Theatre, has died at age 88. King's New Federal Theatre has been at the forefront of producing critically acclaimed plays with social justice themes, for over 50 years. He has mentored...
by Fern Gillespie
When author Donna Hill, Executive Director for the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, first joined the college in 2012 as a professor, the Brooklyn native already had a reputation as a prolific pioneer in publishing. Her page-turner novels on...
Fern GillespieBarry Cooper, known as “Coach Coop,” has inspired hundreds of young Black and Brown men in Brooklyn’s underserved neighborhoods. Not as a sports coach, but as a life coach for youth. The founder of The B.R.O. Experience Foundation in Bed Stuy, Cooper’s positive...
by Fern GillespieIn recognition of the New Year, Our Time Press reached out to Brooklyn’s influential leaders in healthcare, the arts, and advocacy to examine their programs’ impact on Black Brooklyn residents in 2025 and explore their goals for 2026.
Dr. Divinah “Dee” Bailey,Founder, Watchful...
Fern GillespieWhen Brooklyn sculptor Helen Evans Ramsaran returned to the Studio Museum in Harlem (SMH) for the unveiling of the new building, she was amazed.
“I was just overwhelmed with the beauty of this space. The flow of space,” the 82 year-old artist told Our...
Reflections from a Brooklyn Changemaker
Fern GillespieFor over 30 years, Colvin W. Grannum has been an influential and instrumental changemaker in Brooklyn’s nonprofits. Currently, the President of Flagstaff Clapham Group, his impact as the founder and CEO of Bridge Street Development Corp and former President...
Fern GillespieBrooklyn youth creatively learn the African Diaspora legacy dance and drum through Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation’s School of the Arts. This artistic inspirational instruction encompasses history, arts, and culture for young people from ages 2 to 18. The school’s legacy of nurturing...
Fern GillespieAfter having a career as frontline activist that spans over 50 years, Bertha Lewis, founder and board chair of the Black Institute (TBI) and the Black Leadership Action Coalition (BLAC) in Brooklyn, will be retiring. For 15 years she has been heading these...
