Meet Yvette
Yvette moved to Harlem about 26 years ago. Prior, she was living in Brooklyn with a roommate but the desire to live on her own brought her to Harlem. When Yvette first moved to the neighborhood, it was aesthetically very different, “Across the street… all of those buildings were, like, blown out. Most of them didn't even have the stairwells in front of them, and... you know, I saw bodies for the first time... The ambulances would always show up. I'd see lights flashing at night. But at the same time, there would be these wonderful pockets of community… The elderly would come out and… just chat, chat, chat, chat, chat. I love talking with them. So two of my senior neighbors, I met them when I was in my 20s… and it was just the cutest thing, like, always talking to [them]. I wasn't even a parent yet. And learning about the neighborhood from their perspective.”
Her father was a Harlem native, and took her on a tour through the neighborhood before she moved. He shared about how the neighborhood looked, about the disenfranchisement and struggles the community experienced during the crack epidemic, and the importance of being aware. But he also introduced her to people he knew in the community that stayed through the years, “He would take me and show me his friends, which were all jazz musicians and their homes were incredible. And I'm looking at all these photos and the art and just the brilliance… The writers, his friends were all… poets. And these are people again, like… I read about them in college, and I'm like, 'Oh, my God, Daddy. Like, I didn't know you knew her.'” Then, when she moved she was able to learn more about the neighborhood through volunteering and working for local organizations. She worked at Harlem Children’s Zone, worked with local churches, and volunteered at youth organizations. Additionally, she volunteered at her children’s schools, Grandma’s Place as well as donating books and technology, and became active in the Harlem chapter of the Deltas. Yvette is also active in a nonprofit created on her block, Marcus Meets Malcolm Block Association, “helping build and galvanize the community” through free programs for residents and neighborhood visitors.
“There [were] these wonderful pockets of community… The elderly would come out and… chat... I love talking with them. So two of my senior neighbors, I met them when I was in my 20s… and it was just the cutest thing... always talking to [them]... and learning about the neighborhood from their perspective.”
Ingraining herself in the community came naturally, “That's always been my anchor, is to be involved in community.” Growing up in a predominantly Puerto Rican household, Yvette experienced a huge culture shock in middle school when her family moved to Massachusetts from New York, but once her grandmother enrolled her in Upward Bound she saw a way to become more involved, “I remember… being a part of that and realizing, like, 'Oh, okay, I can learn about my culture, my history, but I could also do something that was engaging for the community as well.'” Her elders also inspired her community involvement, “My grandmother owned a house [and] everyone was always there. So all my cousins and aunts and uncles and great aunts and parents, like, everyone was always in the house. And… I felt like I learned a lot from my elders.” Them sharing their knowledge, about their upbringing, and family history as well as encouraging creativity created a foundation for her to do the work in college and beyond. By her second semester at University of Massachusetts Amherst, she was running the Malcolm X Cultural Center and received the nickname “Little X.” Her great uncle and uncle were both activists, who she learned a lot from, “The people that they talked about so richly, I thought were... like mythological people until I really got to high school. And I was like, 'Oh, my God, these are people that are real.' ...But the way they spoke [about] them with such insight and also because they grew up, like my dad and... my uncle, all of them, they talked about Malcolm X because they knew him, they saw him here in community. It wasn't just like this person that was on paper or on film.” Hearing their wisdom, learning from their experiences, and always asking her family questions instilled the value of passing on that knowledge, especially to the youth.
Community work is also a major part of her career. After graduating from UMass Amherst, she started in music and entertainment, working at large labels like Perspective Records, then landed her dream job at Essence. “I went to school for journalism. I did all of the things because I only wanted to work for Essence… [When] I landed the job. I couldn't believe it.” After years of working at Essence as an Entertainment Editor, she took an opportunity at another startup label, and that is when she moved to Harlem. In Harlem, Yvette would go on to lead Harlem Children Zone’s youth program, TRUCE Media Literacy and Arts. “All of those jobs, every single one of them has always had young people as part of my experience there, which has been great.” A memorable moment involved a young man sent to her office after clashing with a teaching artist. Despite his initial resistance, through patience and a playful debate about his shoes, Yvette was able to get him re-engaged. She prompted him to write his thoughts down to convince her that they were the best shoes, since he was so passionate about it. Over weeks of work, it culminated in his writing becoming an article that was published in a paper, “And the way he took so much pride when he saw that actually in print was phenomenal.” This experience not only helped him find pride and purpose but also kept him off the streets, showing the transformative power of patience, listening, and finding common ground. She says, “I think... it's kind of limiting to just say…activism is one sort of action when it isn't. It's a way of being… I can tell you the things that matter most to me are young people…. I feel like my activism is also in just understanding… my limitations but also understanding that I'm always learning. So I never feel like there's a closed door mentality in terms of, like, learning from young people. Even from my own children like there's so much I learned from them…. I think that that sense of activism was ignited [in] some way when I was younger.” Currently, she works for the Read Alliance, “I was able to bring my passion around working with young people [and] really hone that here in Harlem. And even in my work now, I work for this organization, Read Alliance, where we work with teens. We hire, train, and pay teens to tutor little kids in reading, one on one. And… it's citywide. I lead the work outside of the city now, so I'm getting us into, like, Pennsylvania and Buffalo, [and] other places.”
“It sounds kind of corny, but it is really and truly a love story with Harlem…. It’s my family, you know, it’s before me. It’s my ancestors that came here… And it is going to be my legacy because [I’m sure] my children are going to… stay in Harlem or come back and forth to Harlem [throughout] their lives.”
The community has changed over the years, but what has remained constant is the “beat of Harlem” and richness of the culture. Her grandparents on her father’s side would often talk about Sugar Hill and seeing the greats come together and create community, door to door. “My friend… created… these shirts that said 'Black Harlem Lives.' And I love wearing that shirt because… I don't think there's much of a difference in the core of what Harlem represents in terms of the culture and the history and the people who were here that made it that… It's definitely that core of Black folks really holding together and telling the story of the richness of the community that was here from an artistic point of view and from a point of view of having a voice that could be heard around the world… So I think that has always been the case and will continue to be the case regardless of how many damn high rises they build here, which is driving me nuts.” The people, especially lifelong residents, are who hold Harlem together and keep the legacy going. Yvette says, “In terms of… the fabric and the identity, that sense of purpose is really what the culture is all about. Like, knowing that being here isn't just about… the aesthetics. It's really about understanding, like, you live here, you have a purpose. It's important that you follow that through… I have other family members that are here, born and raised… in Harlem. And no matter what, whether you're in [a] housing development, a brownstone, a newly developed building, it does not matter… Being someone from this community and understanding that you have a legacy that you push forward is intentional. Like, I think that is equally as important and part of the culture of Harlem.” Yvette mentions people like, social activist, Tamika Mallory, and the founder of The Soapbox Presents, Marija Abney, that are still carrying out the work of the great artists, community organizers, and activists that came before. “Understanding that part of the culture of Harlem means that you are inheriting and need to push forward that greatness… That has to continue.”
Harlem is now where she has lived the longest and where she is raising her family. Her children have lived in Harlem all of their lives and she can see the community within them. Reflecting on her Harlem journey, she says, “When I came here, I felt like I was… just learning about who I am as a person. And then I became a parent and a professional… It sounds kind of corny, but it is really and truly a love story with Harlem…. It's my family, you know, it's before me. It's my ancestors that came here. This is where they first came… And it is going to be my legacy because [I’m sure] my children are going to… stay in Harlem or come back and forth to Harlem [throughout] their lives.”
