Since the Great Migration, Black people have built a vibrant and thriving mecca in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn—making it an icon of community, culture, and resistance.

But the neighborhood is changing.

Gentrification, racist housing policies, and systemic oppression have forced longtime Bed-Stuy residents and business owners out of the neighborhood—as a younger, predominately white population moves in. Black residents must reconcile these changes with their sense of belonging on the blocks they built.

We Are Here is a celebration of Bedford-Stuyvesant’s rich cultural legacy—a testament to its past and present. We Are Here centers images and stories of long-time Bed-Stuy residents, cementing their place as neighborhood icons in the name of resilience and permanence.

We Are Here features photographs by Robyn Twomey with interviews by Monica L. Williams, artistic director of As Quiet As It’s Kept, a multidisciplinary installation project supported by Bailey’s Café—a space for community and healing in Bed-Stuy. Special thanks to Stefanie Siegal, Pia Monique Murray, and all the participants who trusted us with their stories and images.