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BEDFORD-STUYVESANT UNVEILS NEW
BRANDING INITIATIVE: “BED-STUY AND PROUD OF IT”

Photograph by Kathryn Kirk
In photo 1 from left: Borough President Markowitz congratulates Mos Def and his mother Umi Smith at the portrait unveiling.

“This Bed-Stuy initiative ties-in perfectly with our goal of marketing Brooklyn to Brooklyn and Brooklyn to the world,” said Borough President Markowitz. “We are a proud city of ethnic neighborhoods, and Bed-Stuy, with its tremendous energy, history, culture, architecture and personality is one of our greatest.”

On Thursday, March 10, Borough President Markowitz, the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (BSRC), the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and the Weeksville Society announced a new motto and branding initiative for the historic neighborhood of Bedford Stuyvesant — “Bed-Stuy and Proud of It.”

To promote the new message the groups unveiled the “Brooklyn Icons” campaign, a series of outdoor wallscapes at Restoration Plaza honoring local legends and national celebrities from Bed-Stuy with portraits created by Brooklyn artists. The first Icons to be unveiled were environmental activist Hattie Carthan (by digital artist True); poet/novelist June Jordan (by painter Mascha Oehlmann); and rapper/actor Mos Def (by graphic designer Howard Allen). Mos Def and his mother Umi Smith beamed with pride at the unveiling.

Deutsche Bank’s prestigious Arts and Enterprises Grant and the Rockefeller Fund helped to make this project a reality. The Tate Group, a Brooklyn strategic marketing firm developed the Bed-Stuy marketing theme and the Brooklyn Icons project.