Edwards in front of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Courtesy BCM
By ELEANOR TRAUBMAN | news@queensledger.com
Eleanor Traubman is the founder of My Local Heroes, which lives on both Facebook and Instagram. Now in its fifth year, MLH is a celebration of activists, artists, athletes and entrepreneurs from Brooklyn and beyond who are working to make their communities better places to live.
Launched during the pandemic, the project was featured in News12 and The Patch, and received a Covid-19 Heroes Award from the former Brooklyn Borough President.
This article is part of a series of posts Eleanor is writing about community leaders and their take on local community involvement. This week, we’re featuring Eleanor’s conversation with Atiba Edwards, CEO of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum in Crown Heights (and check out our past coverage of the museum’s 125th anniversary celebrations!).
My Local Heroes: Why is participation in one’s own local community important?
Atiba Edwards: This level of participation is important as it is an opportunity to shape the place we live rather than have it be shaped for us in ways that don’t include the input of the community.
Proactively, this participation can help shape and highlight the things not evident in terms of need and offerings.
MLH: What is an example from your own life, past or present, where you’ve experienced the power of being involved in local community?
AE: I used to co-lead a middle school. While I was there, a friend and I launched a club where we would take a group of students on trips throughout the five boroughs to allow them to realize that the world is bigger than their block.
These trips included an outing to 5 Pointz (the original one), and outings to other art galleries and museums. We provided experiences that were not part of most people’s normal day or month.
It was enriching to see how they lit up with joy taking part in all of these experiences from riding the train to Queens to taking DJ lessons at @ScratchDJ Academy and more.
MLH: What are a few specific ways that individuals can get involved in their local community?
AE: Identify the one or two things you are deeply passionate about, then think about how to either bring them to life or find others who have the same level of passion. Then approach each day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind as you work to bring these visions to life.
MLH: What are some ways you’ve created community at the Museum?
AE: In the last few years, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum has expanded the types of communities we serve and how we can be a space for them. For example, we created a culinary residency program in our café, and also provided a space for a variety of programs from comedy shows, to weddings, to staff trainings.
We deepened our work with schools and provided space for local community- based organizations including more than five youth plays, dance recitals and talent shows!
