This weekend, I attended many of our community’s block parties, the final @solabedstuy Open Streets on Lewis Avenue, attend the grand opening of @manupinc’s new Cure Violence location in Bed-Stuy, and I had the privilege of speaking at the late Dr. Albert Vann’s Celebration of Life. Dr. Albert Vann was the former Council Member and Assemblymember (amongst many other things) who represented Bed-Stuy and North Crown Heights. He fought so that we would have the Bed-Stuy we have today – a bastion of Black creativity, culture, and political power. It’s my mission to keep that spirit alive. I know that I stand on the shoulders of this great man and I am humbled to hold the seat he once held. I look forward to all we will continue to do in this great community and I look forward to continuing the legacy of Black liberation, pride and leadership. It’s a privilege to stand on the shoulders of giants. It’s a blessing that our giant is and was Al Vann. His legacy is truly a gift to us all. His legacy of empowerment. We live in one of America’s Black strongholds. A sanctuary for children of Africa, liberated from slavery whether in the United States or the nearby Carribbean. Without tools like generational wealth and institutional power, we not only survived, but thrived. This would not have been possible without the transformative lives of leaders, movers, and shakers like the great Al Vann. Bed-Stuy and all of Brooklyn are richer, healthier, more vibrant places thanks to his life and legacy. That we, today, live in power is in no small part thanks to Dr. Al Vann – may he rest in power, too.