From Canarsie to the World: How one Obama Scholar is transforming Brooklyn communities

Thanks to Jibreel’s enthusiasm, everyone in the 2024–2025 Scholars program — even those from other countries — now knows about Canarsie, Brooklyn, a neighborhood where he’s leading a grassroots movement for change, reshaping the community one victory at a time.

As a recent graduate of the 2024-2025 Columbia University Scholar's Program, Jibreel recalls a memory that helped shape his path: a peer in his neighborhood was shot and killed. When he walked into school the next day, no one mentioned it. There were only hushed whispers in the hallways. What stayed with him wasn’t just the lack of support through the trauma, but the deeper silence — the kind that never taught them how to carry their pain or that their voices could rise together to demand something better. The silence was deafening, and it lit a fire in him to break it.

“It was not mentioned much by the teachers or the principal. It was kind of, oh, just this is a tragedy. We were never motivated or moved to believe we can effect change.”

This moment planted a strong sense of purpose in Jibreel to speak up and push for change. By his second year of college, he had the opportunity to intern with Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, and the New York City Public Advocate’s office. These roles opened his eyes to the power of community organizing. 

He saw how grassroots efforts could help fix some of the deep problems facing his neighborhood. These lessons gave him the tools he needed to make a difference in Canarsie through The Flossy Organization.

Jibreel started The Flossy Organization to fight inequality in Canarsie using advocacy and local organizing. The group brings neighbors together to raise awareness, build coalitions, and take direct action on issues like environmental justice, public safety, and youth empowerment. The group has already had a massive impact, shutting down plans for a harmful pesticide facility and helping bring city funding to support a gun violence prevention program.

The Flossy Organization's first major victory was preventing the installation of a pesticide facility (Opens in a new tab) in Canarsie. The proposed site would have been dangerously close to a school bus depot and a local fresh produce market. Exposure to the chemicals used in pesticide production can pose serious health risks.

The campaign, “Toxic Facility? Hell No” brought together neighbors, business owners, and local leaders together to push back and prevent further harm to their community. 

“We had virtually no resources, not a lot of money, no staff. Just heart, fire, and belief that we can get this done,”Jabreel said.

The second big win was a two-year campaign that helped bring $1.6 million (Opens in a new tab)to targeted areas of New York City through a “Cure Violence” program. The program began after the tragic shooting of a teenager named Jamere Jones. The program used community-based strategies like Violence Interrupters who mediate conflicts, local residents who join rallies and advocacy, and support services offering job training, mental health care, and legal help to reduce gun violence. The initiative has been shown to reduce shootings by 40% in these areas.

In addition to local organizing through The Flossy Organization, Jibreel started the Advocacy Academy, a program that teaches young people how to organize and speak up for their communities.

Through the support of the Obama Scholars Program, Jibreel was able to access mentorship  from senior leaders at The Obama Foundation, like Tina Tchen and Michael Strautmanis. Their mentorship helped him think bigger about what’s possible.

“Just being able to engage with those incredible minds as someone who runs a very small neighborhood nonprofit... I had to pinch myself like, "What the hell am I doing here?”

One of the most powerful moments for Jibreel was giving a tour of Canarsie, the neighborhood he’s deeply committed to, to his fellow Obama Scholars from 12 different countries. As Jibreel puts it, “It was an incredible overlap of my two worlds—my community and my global family of leaders.”