The Just Brooklyn Prize, presented by The Social Justice Fund in partnership with the Brooklyn Community Foundation, is awarded to five BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) changemakers annually who are dedicated to strengthening and building power within Brooklyn’s communities. Leaders are submitted for consideration through a public nomination process and chosen by a Selection Committee of distinguished Brooklynites. The $20,000 prize is awarded without restrictions, in honor of winners’ contributions to the borough in the pursuit of racial and social justice. Nominations for the next cohort will open in Spring 2024.

Patrick Gaspard Keynote Speech

The Just Brooklyn Prize: Event Recap

About the 2023 Winners

C. Zawadi Morris is the founder of the Original Media Group and BK Reader, a digital daily news site committed to sharing Brooklyn's local news and offering media representation to all residents. A 25-year resident of Brooklyn, Zawadi worked in public relations and publishing before launching BK Reader in 2013 to model what she believes news equity should look like. The state’s first Black woman-owned independent daily news site, BK Reader has published for free every day for 10 years. The paper has hired over 50 local writers and published more than 20,000 local news stories since its inception and achieved the most racially diverse readership of any news outlet in the city.

Chanel Porchia-Albert is the founder of Ancient Song Doula Services, a Brooklyn-based organization that provides comprehensive support to pregnant people, new parents, and families. Her own experience of being a mother inspired Chanel to become a doula, and she has provided prenatal education, doula training, and workshops to her community with a focus on addressing racial disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes. In addition to her full-spectrum doula work, Chanel advocates locally and nationally for policies that impact pregnant people and families. 

Debra Ack is a founding member of the East New York Community Land Trust, a community organization working to stop displacement in their neighborhood. A life-long Brooklynite and 30-year resident of East New York, her work with the Community Land Trust has included advocating to end tax lien sales, involving the community in city planning processes, and pushing the city to address decades of sanitation and environmental justice issues. She believes in empowering residents to lead their own community-planning efforts and in collectively determining how land, buildings, and resources should be used. 

La'Shawn Allen-Muhammad is the Executive Director of the Central Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation, which works to build pathways to self-sufficiency in the local economy. Through her work at the CBEDC, she has launched a business incubator, provided job training, and supported unrepresented entrepreneurs in the community. She is also the founder of Entrepreneurs of New York, which promotes cooperative economics and supports small businesses. A champion of economic empowerment, she has spent her career creating opportunities for community residents and families, especially through the avenues of home and business ownership. 

Samora Coles is the founder and director of The Alex House Project, an organization that supports young parents in Brooklyn. Named after her own son, The Alex House Project acts as a lifeline for teen parents by providing material support, social service referrals, as well as parenting classes. Using a train-the-trainer model, Samora equips graduates to become parent educators themselves while growing their own professional skills. In their 10 years, over 500 parents have gone through Alex House workshops and programming; Samora is dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty in communities of color by giving young parents the skills and support they need to build a brighter future for the next generation.

Selection Committee:

Dr. Uche Blackstock
Founder and CEO, Advancing Health Equity

Sharon Daughtry
Executive Director, Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance

Rev. Emma Jordan-Simpson
President, Auburn Theological Seminary

Randy Peers
President & CEO, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce

Antonio Reynoso
Brooklyn Borough President

Ouigi Theodore
Founder, The Brooklyn Circus

Maya Wiley
President & CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Angela Yee
Host, Way Up With Angela Yee

Jo-Ann Yoo
Executive Director, Asian American Federation