Test Your Knowledge of Brooklyn’s The East

The East was founded by Jitu Weusi (Les Campbell) and members of the African American Student Association in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Inspired by the Congress of African People and the Black Power movement, it embraced cultural nationalism, emphasizing:

• Pan-African consciousness
• Independent Black institutions
• Community control of education and economics

In 1969, Weusi co-founded The East and Uhuru Sasa Shule alongside Aminisha Black and other members of the African American Student Association.

Uhuru Sasa Shule, Kiswahili for “Freedom Now School,” was the educational cornerstone of The East — a radical experiment in Black self-determination founded in 1969 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

Black News was the media arm of The East — a biweekly magazine that carried the institution’s message of cultural nationalism, Pan-African solidarity, and Black self-determination across the country. More than a publication, it was a pedagogical tool, a political platform, and a connective tissue for the Black liberation movement.

Brooklyn’s African Street Carnival, founded in the early 1970s by members of The East including Segun Shabaka, was more than a neighborhood celebration — it was a public declaration of Black cultural sovereignty. What began as a local street fair in Bedford-Stuyvesant evolved into the International African Arts Festival, now one of the longest-running Pan-African cultural events in the United States.

The East (1969–1986) was more than a cultural nationalist institution — it was a sovereign Black ecosystem built in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. It was located at 10 Claver Place in the historic Bedford Stuyvesant Section of Brooklyn, New York. Founded in 1969, it fused education, economics, and art into a living blueprint for self-determination. This post traces its rise, key personalities, and enduring legacy, with side projects on its most vital institutions.

🔥 Origins and Ideological Roots

The East was founded by Jitu Weusi (Les Campbell) and members of the African American Student Association in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Inspired by the Congress of African People and the Black Power movement, it embraced cultural nationalism, emphasizing:

• Pan-African consciousness
• Independent Black institutions
• Community control of education and economics

For New York City and vicinity, the institution quickly became a hub for political education, cultural programming, and economic self-sufficiency.

Among the cultural architects was Yusef Iman, a poet, playwright, and educator whose work helped shape the institution’s artistic and ideological voice. A founding member of The Last Poets and longtime Brooklyn resident, Iman brought a fierce commitment to Black consciousness and creative expression, anchoring The East’s performance programming and youth workshops in revolutionary poetics. I recall Yusef to be among the most humble of human beings I have ever encountered.

The East headquarters at 10 Claver Place housed a school, newspaper (Black News), bookstore, food co-op, performance venue, and publishing arm — all designed to nurture Black consciousness and self-determination. The Performance venue saw its peak during the 1970s, hosting legends like Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders, Max Roach, and Gil Scott-Heron

The organization was not born in isolation — it was part of a national wave of Black nationalist institution-building. From Newark’s Spirit House to Detroit’s Shrine of the Black Madonna, cultural nationalists were creating schools, newspapers, bookstores, and food co-ops that reflected their values. Its ideological stance was unapologetically Pan-African and anti-imperialist, yet deeply rooted in local community needs. Members didn’t just theorize sovereignty — they practiced it daily, through cooperative economics, youth education, and cultural production.

Uhuru Sasa Shule, Kiswahili for “Freedom Now School,” was the educational cornerstone of The East — a radical experiment in Black self-determination founded in 1969 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

🔥 Founding Vision

• Created by Jitu Weusi, Adeyeme Bandele, and other members of The East
• Rooted in the belief that Black children deserved education grounded in African history, pride, and political agency
• Rejected Eurocentric curricula and the assimilationist model of public schooling

🧠 Pedagogy and Practice

• Students pledged allegiance not to the U.S. flag, but to the Black Liberation Movement
• Curriculum included:
  • Kiswahili language instruction
  • African history and geography
  • Political education and Pan-African theory

Black News was the media arm of The East — a biweekly magazine that carried the institution’s message of cultural nationalism, Pan-African solidarity, and Black self-determination across the country. More than a publication, it was a pedagogical tool, a political platform, and a connective tissue for the Black liberation movement.

Brooklyn’s African Street Carnival, founded in the early 1970s by members of The East including Segun Shabaka, was more than a neighborhood celebration — it was a public declaration of Black cultural sovereignty. What began as a local street fair in Bedford-Stuyvesant evolved into the International African Arts Festival, now one of the longest-running Pan-African cultural events in the United States.

In the aftermath of Malcolm X’s assassination and amid growing disillusionment with integrationist politics, cultural nationalists sought to build independent institutions that could nurture Black consciousness, economic autonomy, and political agency and reinforce a shared vision of liberation.

Its ideological stance was unapologetically Pan-African and anti-imperialist, yet deeply rooted in local community needs. Members didn’t just theorize sovereignty — they practiced it daily, through cooperative economics, youth education, and cultural production. The institution’s refusal to compromise with city bureaucracy or dilute its message made it both revered and marginalized.

Relationship with Malcolm X

In the early 1960s, Iman joined Muslim Mosque Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) — both founded by Malcolm X after his departure from the Nation of Islam. Malcolm, impressed by Iman’s unwavering commitment, renamed him “Yusef Iman” — Yusef being the Arabic form of Joseph, and Iman meaning “faith.” This renaming was a spiritual and political affirmation, marking Iman as a trusted disciple in Malcolm’s post-NOI vision.