Majora Carter
Urban revitalizer
Majora Carter wants to build better communities for people, right where they are.
Why you should listen
"Nobody should have to move out of their neighborhood to live in a better one," says Majora Carter, whose words are quoted on the walls of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. With a focus on reducing brain drain in communities like the South Bronx, New York, where she was born and raised, she helps develop the vision and strategies for restorative economic development projects. Her clients include real estate development companies, municipalities, universities, economic development agencies, and foundations. She's also the owner of the award-winning Boogie Down Grind coffee shop, a cafe in the Bronx celebrating both hip hop culture and community.Carter is a MacArthur Fellow and a Peabody Award-winning broadcaster. Her 2022 book, Reclaiming Your Community: You Don’t Have to Move out of Your Neighborhood to Live in a Better One, rethinks poverty, economic development and the meaning of success. Her 2006 TED Talk, "Greening the ghetto," was one of the first six TED Talks published online.
