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...
by Fern GillespieIn an era where federal arts institutions are cautious in exhibiting political Black culture that the Trump administration might deem “Anti-American DEI,” the National Gallery of Art has boldly organized an exhibition that explores the impact of the Black Arts Movement. “Photography...
Fern GillespieOur Time Press spoke to the leadership of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the founding organization of Black History Month for insights on “Trump 2.0 Impact on Black Americans.” Leading Black History historians Dr. Karsonya "Kaye" Wise...
Fern GillespieThe Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture is under attack from the Trump administration as “anti-American.” Our Time Press spoke to the leadership of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the founding organization of Black...
Fern GillespieWhen Monae Priolenau-Jones was appointed to a top leadership role at Brooklyn Community Services (BCS), it was like destiny. Her family have been Brooklyn residents for over 100 years, and she had a passion for community outreach. Now, she is Interim Co-President &...
By Fern GillespieHarlem is always on Voza Rivers’ mind. Born and raised in the heart of Harlem, Rivers has blended his love of the arts and his managerial skill to showcase Uptown as a leader in Black culture. Whether it’s his leadership at Harlem...
A Storyteller Raised by Harlem Renaissance Legends Who Lived a Novel Life
By Fern GillespieThere are people who “live a novel life.” Then there are people whose lives are “better than a novel.” Abigail McGrath, founder of Martha’s Vineyard Renaissance House Retreat for Writers and...
Tracing Black Families Back to Slavery in Brooklyn
Fern GillespieSlavery in New York City began 400 years ago in 1626 when 11 enslaved African men were brought here by the Dutch West India Company. By 1786, Brooklyn had 2,669 white residents and 1,317 Black people...
