The Lay Out

2020 changed everything. When the pandemic hit, we all faced a level of isolation and uncertainty that we had never experienced before. And then a video changed the world...

As we all witnessed the murder of George Floyd, that feeling of isolation intensified as grief, anger and helplessness also took hold. Following a night of protests steps away from her home in Fort Greene, Brooklyn that culminated with the explosion of an NYPD van and several days of citywide curfews, Emily Anadu wanted to make a difference. It was critical to bring back the sense of community and culture that had dwindled as Fort Greene has gone from a primarily Black neighborhood less than two decades ago, to a neighborhood where Black residents and businesses are becoming fewer and further between. Named after “the let out”, Emily reached out to friends to work together to bring the vision to life and The Lay Out was born on June 7, 2020 as a way for the Black community to just be…

Physical space is integral to our mission of reclamation and restoration as we seek to undo the social damages of erasure, bias, and discriminatory laws and practices by intentionally creating safe space for Blackness.

While this started with public park space in Brooklyn, their focus has expanded to areas and locations where Black presence and visibility are not typically at the forefront.

Learn more at their website.