Youth Champion Malik Yoba To Host Real Estate Development and Generational Wealth Building Activation

Three–time NAACP Image Award winner and Founder and CEO of Yoba Development, Dr. Malik Yoba, is a true champion for the youth, driven by his way of thinking. 

From volunteering at New York’s CityKids Foundation in the ’80s, the real estate entrepreneur and actor is now taking his passions to host a first-of-its-kind, immersive two–day generational wealth-building activation. Titled, From the Ground Up: Flipping the Hood, the community-focused initiative takes place on May 12 and 13 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard at 399 Sands St., according to a press release obtained by BLACK ENTERPRISE.

Born and raised between the South Bronx and Harlem, Yoba is no stranger to the gritty heart of New York City. From bike messaging to perfecting his salesman pitch, it was instilled in a young hustler’s mind that his father’s job was to teach him how to think.

“What I believe separates us from the successes we want is how we think about them,” Yoba told BLACK ENTERPRISE. “We talk about people whose legacies have endured from slavery, oppression, [and] Jim Crow because they thought a certain way. If I could pass on that one bit of generational wealth, it’s the knowledge. It’s really the information gap that allows us to close the wealth gap.”

In partnership with Yoba Development, the upcoming activation will promote generational wealth building while “inspiring and empowering this next generation of aspiring entrepreneurs to take action, learn, work and invest together for the sake of ownership and agency in their own communities” as per the release.

“That’s why this is called an activation. It’s about activating something in the moment that will sustain itself beyond the moment. From a moment to A movement. That’s what this work is.”

Thanks to the contributions of The Brooklyn STEAM Center and Pratt students, the planning and execution of this activation are designed with a particular focus on the youth. 

“Having them at the center of it is imperative,” said Yoba, adding how much he loves working with youth. He said he is proud to have found a way to actively combine his love for teaching, filmmaking, acting, and real estate.

However, the Bronx native doesn’t take credit for From the Ground Up: Flipping the Hood. He told BLACK ENTERPRISE that he is simply manifesting the idea with a group of like-minded individuals with intentionality and time. 

With education and opportunity in mind, Yoba Development brings together professionals and entrepreneurs of color in various fields, including mental health, real estate development, entertainment, finance, art, culture, and more. They will provide students and young people of color access to information and career pathways where minority representation is woefully low.

What’s more? Participants will gain access to mentorship, scholarships, internships, job opportunities, crowdfunding real estate investments, government contracting, investment strategies, partnerships, and joint ventures.

In addition, a portion of the proceeds will help fund Yoba Development’s recently launched “I Build NY,” NYC’s first real estate development curriculum for public high school students. “I Build NY” was developed in partnership with Pratt Institute Undergraduate School of Architecture and will be offered to students citywide through an immersive summer program that will continue in the fall semester.

“I didn’t know what a real estate developer was in high school. I knew that I wanted to be involved in it. The minute I got a seat at the table as a developer or to learn about developing, that was in 2007,  I kept saying I need to teach people this,” Yoba recounted.

 

“We grew up in these communities that were redlined and they were purposely disinvested in. How does it make you feel emotionally? How does it make you feel psychologically? Why do certain areas look the way they do? Largely on purpose.”

With the help of creative joint venture partnerships, Yoba ensures that more activations are yet to come.

To purchase tickets and view the speaker list and program, visit here.