Larry Nickens talks Harlem brand and youth development org

by JASON PONTEROTTO

When Larry M. Nickens worked as a stockbroker in the early 2000s, he was asked what he would do with his first million, to which he replied that he would make Harlem great again. He has remained committed to that mission, describing his work as being an “enforcer of goodwill in the community.”

Today, Nickens, 61, and his daughter, Aaliyah, 23, are all about empowering the Harlem community and beyond — particularly the youth. In 2022, the two established a nonprofit, Heir B&B Best & Brightest Academy, which provides youth vocational and professional development training. Nickens is the executive program director, while Aaliyah is the director of campaigns, and they work with a larger team.

“When you empower younger people, you’re adding value to the community … A lot of the chaos we have is coming from our younger people, not because they’re bad. We’re not positioning them,” Nickens said.

“We didn’t give them the requisite information they needed, and then we didn’t give them the example. Where’s the business ownership? Where are the core values as adults that we’re supposed to be living, that our children see us doing instead of talking about?”

The two also run a street apparel company, Goody Graphics, and created the “Make Harlem Great Again” brand campaign, which comes in hoodies and hats. The brand launched last summer and has been growing in immense popularity in the last several months. Nickens serves as senior designer for the company. Apparel can be purchased through their website and also through Cap USA, a longtime Harlem hat company, celebrating 30 years. Nickens can be found making connections locally and has collaborated with groups like Defend Harlem.

Nickens raised his daughter as a single father for most of her life, and both have unique stories of overcoming trials and directing their lives toward serving their community and the youth.

Born and raised in Harlem, Nickens was the youngest of three boys and raised by his grandparents in the famous St. Nicholas projects. Both of his older brothers were in the Harlem drug scene, with his oldest having been murdered in 1981 and the other later passing away from an overdose in 2017. Being involved in communal organizations like the Shiloh Baptist Church and the 131st Block Association helped shield Nickens from trouble.

As a teen, Nickens got mixed up in drug dealing, and after an encounter with police at 21, he was influenced by a close family friend to get a legitimate job and turn his life around. He would go on to work at the Marriott Hotel, then Nissan Motors, and even modeled jackets in Harlem and styled for Will Smith.

In 1998, Nickens was encouraged by a friend to take a stockbroking training course and soon began working with the Whitehall Wellington brokerage firm. He officially became licensed in the summer of 2001, shortly before the market crash following 9/11, and stuck it out for another year before leaving to find work.

In November 2002, when Aaliyah was born, he transitioned to working at a friend’s security firm, becoming the site manager at St. Agnes Apartments. He also shifted to public service, becoming a community benefits supervisor with the Center for Community Alternatives in 2013.

It wasn’t until 2017, during an encounter in Las Vegas, when he was sketching designs in a notepad and was asked by a man if he could purchase the sketch. This inspired Nickens, who had a talent for drawing since he was a kid, to create his graphics company.

In 2022, he was encouraged by Aaliyah to create their nonprofit, because he was known for giving advice to and working with youth. The program works with eight cohorts, young men ages 16-25, and is looking to expand with young women soon. They partnered with a Black-owned company, Genesis Construction, to provide construction technology training as well as socialization, anger management, and conflict resolution skills.

Aaliyah also helped Nickens with the marketing for his “Make Harlem Great Again” brand, which intentionally juxtaposes Trump’s “Make America Great Again.” But, critically, he says the message is about bringing back the strength of Harlem, which is all about connecting and creating community.

“Show me a pocket where you have common Harlemites that are leveraged in different spaces, whether it’s home ownership, business ownership, nonprofits that really have a transformative effect on lives … parents pooling resources,” Nickens said. “We’ve gotten away from the village.”

Nickens calls the relationship with CAP USA a brotherhood and says partnerships like those are crucial for the community in pushing back against gentrification. He credits the family that operates the store, who came to Harlem as migrants, and says they have always had community as their blueprint.

“They put $50,000 into the biggest, most historic basketball tournament in Harlem, which is Kingdome, and they don’t broadcast it,” Nickens said. “That’s ‘Make Harlem Great Again.’”