When Larry M. Nickens labored as a stockbroker within the early 2000s, he was requested what he would do together with his first million, to which he replied that he would make Harlem nice once more. He has remained dedicated to that mission, describing his work as being an “enforcer of goodwill in the neighborhood.”
Right this moment, Nickens, 61, and his daughter, Aaliyah, 23, are all about empowering the Harlem group and past — significantly the youth. In 2022, the 2 established a nonprofit, Inheritor B&B Finest & Brightest Academy, which gives youth vocational {and professional} improvement coaching. Nickens is the manager program director, whereas Aaliyah is the director of campaigns, and so they work with a bigger workforce.
“Whenever you empower youthful folks, you’re including worth to the group … Quite a lot of the chaos we have now is coming from our youthful folks, not as a result of they’re dangerous. We’re not positioning them,” Nickens mentioned.
“We didn’t give them the requisite info they wanted, after which we didn’t give them the instance. The place’s the enterprise possession? The place are the core values as adults that we’re presupposed to be dwelling, that our kids see us doing as a substitute of speaking about?”
The 2 additionally run a road attire firm, Goody Graphics, and created the “Make Harlem Nice Once more” model marketing campaign, which is available in hoodies and hats. The model launched final summer season and has been rising in immense recognition within the final a number of months. Nickens serves as senior designer for the corporate. Attire could be bought by means of their web site and likewise by means of Cap USA, a longtime Harlem hat firm, celebrating 30 years. Nickens could be discovered making connections regionally and has collaborated with teams like Defend Harlem.
Nickens raised his daughter as a single father for many of her life, and each have distinctive tales of overcoming trials and directing their lives towards serving their group and the youth.
Born and raised in Harlem, Nickens was the youngest of three boys and raised by his grandparents within the well-known St. Nicholas initiatives. Each of his older brothers have been within the Harlem drug scene, together with his oldest having been murdered in 1981 and the opposite later passing away from an overdose in 2017. Being concerned in communal organizations just like the Shiloh Baptist Church and the 131st Block Affiliation helped defend Nickens from hassle.
As a teen, Nickens acquired blended up in drug dealing, and after an encounter with police at 21, he was influenced by an in depth household buddy to get a authentic job and switch his life round. He would go on to work on the Marriott Lodge, then Nissan Motors, and even modeled jackets in Harlem and styled for Will Smith.
In 1998, Nickens was inspired by a buddy to take a stockbroking coaching course and shortly started working with the Whitehall Wellington brokerage agency. He formally grew to become licensed in the summertime of 2001, shortly earlier than the market crash following 9/11, and caught it out for an additional yr earlier than leaving to search out work.
In November 2002, when Aaliyah was born, he transitioned to working at a buddy’s safety agency, turning into the location supervisor at St. Agnes Residences. He additionally shifted to public service, turning into a group advantages supervisor with the Middle for Neighborhood Options in 2013.
It wasn’t till 2017, throughout an encounter in Las Vegas, when he was sketching designs in a notepad and was requested by a person if he may buy the sketch. This impressed Nickens, who had a expertise for drawing since he was a child, to create his graphics firm.
In 2022, he was inspired by Aaliyah to create their nonprofit, as a result of he was identified for giving recommendation to and dealing with youth. This system works with eight cohorts, younger males ages 16-25, and is trying to broaden with younger ladies quickly. They partnered with a Black-owned firm, Genesis Development, to offer development expertise coaching in addition to socialization, anger administration, and battle decision abilities.
Aaliyah additionally helped Nickens with the advertising and marketing for his “Make Harlem Nice Once more” model, which deliberately juxtaposes Trump’s “Make America Nice Once more.” However, critically, he says the message is about bringing again the power of Harlem, which is all about connecting and creating group.
“Present me a pocket the place you will have widespread Harlemites which might be leveraged in numerous areas, whether or not it’s residence possession, enterprise possession, nonprofits that actually have a transformative impact on lives … mother and father pooling sources,” Nickens mentioned. “We’ve gotten away from the village.”
Nickens calls the connection with CAP USA a brotherhood and says partnerships like these are essential for the group in pushing again towards gentrification. He credit the household that operates the shop, who got here to Harlem as migrants, and says they’ve at all times had group as their blueprint.
“They put $50,000 into the most important, most historic basketball event in Harlem, which is Kingdome, and so they don’t broadcast it,” Nickens mentioned. “That’s ‘Make Harlem Nice Once more.’”
