Meet Estina
Estina, 34 years old, has lived in Harlem all of her life and it has provided her with great memories and lessons that have helped shape the person she is today.
She has fond memories of walking to school in the morning with her friends in the building. “I remember being like 7-8 years old… [and] me and my friends…[would] meet at the first floor and just go to school together because it was like right there... And then… you had… parents watching from the windows making sure like, ‘You better not go to the store. Go to school… Look at the time.’” Estina and her friends would often stop at the deli or the penny store on the way to school, “When I would go to the deli… I would be like ‘Lemme get a bacon, egg, and cheese’, all in one [word]… And then we used to have this penny store on Lexington… between 117 and 118. Small little shop, like you could hardly fit two people in there. But you could get every single type of candy that you wanted for a penny each. And we'd go before we’d go to school. That's why they were screaming at us, like, ‘Go to school!’”, she laughs. She recalls she and her sister, Lisa, getting icees from the Icee man and playing in the fire hydrant. Whether it was getting creative and making their own games, going to basketball games at Kingdome, cookouts, and block parties, or going on walks following the Yogi Bear Truck from 117th to 196th St. and picking up friends along the way, there was always something to do that helped create memories and forge bonds.
“I remember just going to the deli… and then [you’d] go with a paper like, ‘Oh, I’m going to pick up this milk’ ...and [you’d] give them a paper and not money because… your mom had a credit... But that was the trust that you… [built] with the community.”
Growing up, one thing she could always count on was the community looking out for one another. She and her three older siblings, Lisa, Ronald, and Lydell, fondly referred to as "Silla’s kids", by those who knew her mother, Drusilla, always had someone looking out for them. The "aunties" and "uncles" of the community would watch out for everyone, like the Cagle family who were known as a prominent family on their block. “Everybody knew everybody”, neighbors and business owners alike, “I remember just going to the deli… and then [you'd] go with a paper like, ‘Oh, I'm going to pick up this milk’ ...and [you'd] give them a paper and not money because… your mom had a credit... But that was the trust that you… [built] with the community.”
The “hustle and bustle” of Harlem grounds her, “...I think just the essence of Harlem, like the people, the community, the culture, the music, the art, everything combined is just what makes this home.” Thinking of the culture in Harlem she says, “I think we're able to have fun with it. We have this cockiness about Harlem, and I think it shows in [our art] …the way we dress, the way we talk, the way we act.” She loves seeing Black businesses that are thriving in the community and seeing block parties that are starting to come back that remind her of the Harlem she grew up in.
Now, Estina is continuously pushing herself as an entrepreneur. She started as a traveling massage therapist in 2016, right after graduating, and has had her current brick and mortar location, EC Hands4Health, since 2021. It is not far from where she grew up, creating a full circle moment. Facing trials and tribulations, she has learned on the way and continues to rise to the challenge. She describes her journey as an entrepreneur as “scary” and “liberating”, “Sometimes I… open my gate and I'm just like, ‘This is me. I did this.’ Like yes, I had help. Don't get me wrong, but I did this and I'm like you can do whatever you put your mind to. I got to start believing in myself a little more too. So… even though it's been hard it's definitely been liberating.” As a business owner she feels Harlem has shaped her into “that Harlem Hustler, go getter”, and she is looking forward to giving back and being an avenue for connection and community building.