Brooklyn publication dedicated to celebrating Black-owned businesses and more

Tayo and Cynthia Giwa are the founders of Black Owned Brooklyn, a publication dedicated to supporting and celebrating Black-owned businesses, Black history and Black culture, as well as telling the stories of those faces behind them.

News 12 Staff

Feb 21, 2022, 2:48 PM

Updated 1,024 days ago

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Tayo and Cynthia Giwa are the founders of Black Owned Brooklyn, a publication dedicated to supporting and celebrating Black-owned businesses, Black history and Black culture, as well as telling the stories of those faces behind them.
Through their largely followed Instagram page, the powerful duo helps to support and promote what they call 'Black Brooklyn' by making their stories accessible.
"In our community, a lot of these businesses are more than just places where people sell things. There are often gathering places. They are places where history is remembered. They are connections to the past. They are places that have an element that allows an intergenerational community. It's not necessarily just for young people or older people. It's a place where everyone can come together," they say.
On the corner of Washington Avenue and Bergen Street is Nurish, just one of the over 400 businesses and organizations Black Owned Brooklyn helps to support.  
Cynthia says that Black Owned Brooklyn came from her curiosity about the people and stories behind some of her favorite neighborhood staples. She calls them a lens into what Brooklyn is all about.  
The couple's impact doesn't stop at supporting local business. They say they have been working on their very own feature length documentary, "The Sun Rises in the East."
The film focuses on Bed-Stuy founded Pan-African cultural organization "East" and is set to premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Thursday.