100+ New York City Stories: Unscripted conversations with artists, entrepreneurs, small businesses and everyday people. Filmed, interviewed, edited & shared by LaRon Batchelor.
“Bitchin about what Brooklyn is now is like bitchin about what Hip-Hop use to be like..aint gonna happen..Paid In Full is not coming back out again.” Amy moved to Fort Greene 28 years ago from the Lower Eastside. We have been friends since the 90′s when I lived in Fort Greene & Clinton Hill. After a stroll around my old neighborhood reminiscing about my Brooklyn days – my house parties, Brooklyn Moon Cafe, Franks, Mikes Diner, The Friendships - I met up with Culture Critic-Substitute Teacher Amy Linden at the entrance of Fort Greene Park for an animated conversation on 28 years in Fort Greene, Rafael Saadiq, Charter Schools & Obama.
A long-time activist and award-winning writer, Powell was born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is the product of a single mother led household, extreme poverty, fatherlessness, and violence. In spite of these harsh circumstances, Powell studied at Rutgers University in New Jersey and he has become one of the most prolific and respected writers and leaders of his generation. He is the author or editor of 10 books, including his newest, Open Letters to America, a collection of essays that examine American leadership, politics, and various social issues in the era of Barack Obama. Additionally, Powell’s writings have appeared in a range of publications including The Washington Post, Newsweek, Essence, Ebony, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and Vibe, where he was a senior writer for several years documenting, most famously, the life and times of the late Tupac Shakur
