Catching Up With Last Year’s Just Brooklyn Prize Winners

The Just Brooklyn Prize, presented by The Social Justice Fund in partnership with Brooklyn Org, is awarded annually to five BIPOC changemakers who are dedicated to strengthening and building power within Brooklyn’s communities.

In preparation for the announcement of this year’s Just Brooklyn Prize winners (coming soon!), we touched base with some of the first prize winners who were honored last year: Debra Ack, C. Zawadi Morris, and Chanel Porchia-Albert. Here’s what they had to say about their love for Brooklyn, and the impact the Just Brooklyn Prize has had on their work:

Debra Ack – Founding Member, East NY Community Land Trust

• Neighborhood: East New York
• Brooklyn in one word: Thriving
• Favorite local hidden gem: Gateway Mall
• What do you love about Brooklyn? The way the community is coming together to preserve their land, history, and create community ownership.
• Tell us about your experience with the Just Brooklyn Prize: The Just Brooklyn Prize gave me a platform to speak with the community, elected officials and city agencies on the importance of the Community Land Trust (CLT) Movement and how it will create community ownership. Through the prize, I got to meet, collaborate, and keep in touch with some amazing women.

Chanel Porchia-Albert – Founder, Ancient Song Doula Services

• Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant
• Brooklyn in one word: Cultural
• Favorite local hidden gem: It’s not hidden, but I love the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.
• What do you love about Brooklyn? The people, food, community, and how folks envelop you in care. Brooklyn has a way of making you feel at home even if you are not from here, and how Bed-Stuy has transformed my life has been magical.
• Tell us about your experience with the Just Brooklyn Prize: The Just Brooklyn Prize has allowed me to expand community work centering on birth and reproductive justice and create space for others who have been and continue to be disenfranchised and dehumanized, such as providing essentials and other mutual aids to migrants and refugees and wrap around healthcare services to the community.

C. Zawadi Morris – Founder, BK Reader

• Neighborhood: Bedford-Stuyvesant
• Brooklyn in one word: Iconic
• Favorite local hidden gem: Brooklyn Bridge Park
• What do you love about Brooklyn? No matter how much Brooklyn changes and evolves, it remains fertile ground; there’s always an opportunity for anyone —everyone—to grow and achieve their highest potential.
• Tell us about your experience with the Just Brooklyn Prize: The support of the Just Brooklyn Prize provided the seed money for me to do more social justice work on a much higher level. Currently, I’m producing a documentary film series on asylum-seekers and their journey navigating a new life in Brooklyn.

The 2023 Just Brooklyn Prize also honored La’Shawn Allen-Muhammad, Executive Director of Central Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation, and Samora Coles, Founder of The Alex House Project, whose organizations have some exciting news.

The Central Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation has been partnering with local community organizations to create workforce development opportunities and build affordable housing in Brownsville and East Brooklyn, among other projects. Additionally, the Alex House Project recently moved to a new 5,600-square-foot facility in Downtown Brooklyn, which will serve as a community engagement and empowerment hub and presents an exciting opportunity for their growing impact in Brooklyn.

As we look ahead to this year’s Just Brooklyn Prize announcement, we are reminded that the work of building a more equitable Brooklyn is ongoing, and each of these leaders plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of our communities.