Spotlight on Oscar
It just didn’t feel right to be out there screaming and protesting, and we weren’t doing anything for the people we were advocating for.
“By the grace of God, growing up in the Bronx I had some good people around me, some great friends. My sister used to take me to different places. She used to live in Westchester and her husband was part of a country club, so I used to hang out with the country club kids with my shorts right above my knees. This is where I got an understanding of balance in life. I started doing my own thing. By the time I was 20, I had one foot in street life, and one foot out of it. I’ve seen a lot of my friends go to jail, two friends that passed away. Reality started to hit. I started to do club promoting, and I was pretty successful. After the whole nightlife scene, I kinda got depressed. I stopped making the money I used to make during the height of the club promoting life. I was in a really dark space. When my mom passed away in 2016, I realized I only had one life to live, and I’m in control of it. I started thinking about the things I wanted to do before my time is up. I’m speaking in terms of if I’m going to die tomorrow. Everything I do is because of that. Fast-forward to last summer. Everyone is coming off of quarantine. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery. I started realizing that if I want to get stuff done, I gotta do something about it. So I started protesting. My friend and I led 7,000 people on the first day. This is when I realized, oh shoot, this is bigger than me and something I wanted to be a part of. We made the group Warriors In the Garden—an organization I was a part of, one of the founding members. But very quickly I realized there were too many cooks in the kitchen. Too many ideas, too many agendas. We did a few things but not enough. It just didn’t feel right to be out there screaming and protesting, and we weren’t doing anything for the people we were advocating for. I got tired of protesting—we were out there for 21 days, and I got tired of that. That’s when I got introduced to the whole mutual aid and food distribution thing this summer by two women named Adama and Tahanie. I used to think you needed to be a celebrity but realized you just have to take advantage of the opportunities that come your way.
Oscar, outside the Webster projects where he grew up, with Mott Haven Fridge Network volunteers
While my food distribution efforts started out in East Harlem, eventually one person connected me to another, who got me connected to Mott Haven Fridge in the Bronx. They give me food and I set it up and give it out to the community. It’s always 1260 Webster Avenue at 1 pm on Saturdays. Right in the neighborhood where I grew up. One thing I’ve been super happy and proud about is that in the beginning people were skeptical—even some of the people I grew up with—they were looking at me like, “Why are you doing this?” But they’ve seen my evolution, and I’ve been able to inspire them. Over time, with consistency, it’s gotten better, people started forming lines, people in the community started getting involved. I think it’s beautiful. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I know I need to be consistent—consistency is key. I need to keep the momentum going. I just lead by example. You know what’s right. And if you know that this neighborhood doesn’t have many opportunities or resources, then be the one and get those resources, lead by example, and get it for the people. I just want this community I grew up in, that helped shape the person I am to grow. I want to give back to the environment that helped build a good man.”
—Oscar, community activist and Mott Haven Fridge food distributor in the Bronx