The Reparations Investment Company (RIC), a new project of the Black Power Blueprint, is renovating some of the thousands of abandoned and deteriorating buildings that scar North St. Louis. Through renovation and reconstruction, RIC is creating affordable, quality housing that strengthens and stabilizes our community.

Proceeds from the sale of the RIC homes go directly to our community to fund programs of the Black Power Blueprint; the impact of each property renovation will be exponential.

RIC hires skilled Black and Indigenous contractors, creating employment and keeping money circulating within our community. We welcome the participation of volunteers of many skill levels and walks of life to contribute to this project.

APEDF President Ona Zené Yeshitela has called on the Uhuru Solidarity Movement, an organization of white people who work under the leadership of the Uhuru Movement, to build the Reparations Investment Company to voluntarily contribute to an infusion of resources into North St. Louis.

RIC is building a reparations-centered network of investors, donors, contractors, skilled laborers, and volunteers who contribute to sustainable, black community-driven real estate acquisition, renovation, and development that generates lasting social impact for the whole community.

Black Power Blueprint challenges the City’s long term plan to push our community out of our homes

Through decades of deliberate city government policies, St. Louis has let the once-thriving African community deteriorate as part of a plan to displace our people and gentrify the northside.

Nine months after the May 16th tornado, the City has refused to support thousands of Black homeowners in North St. Louis whose homes were damaged—while directing resources to white neighborhoods on the southside and downtown.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a massive 2,000‑acre U.S. military intelligence site less than 2 miles from the Uhuru House, is driving the gentrification of our community. The City is using the devastation from the May 16 tornado as an opportunity to take our property and push our community out.

Black Power Blueprint Programs are constructing a new world for our community today

APEDF President Ona launched the Black Power Blueprint to revitalize, beautify, and defend North St. Louis in the face of the City’s ongoing efforts to displace our community through gentrification.

For nearly a decade, the Black Power Blueprint has been transforming the northside, acquiring properties and developing them into beautiful and uplifting self-reliance programs, such as the Uhuru House, The One Africa! One Nation! Farmers Market, the Gary Brooks Black Power Community Garden, the Black Power Vanguards Community Basketball Court.

The BIG REVEAL is coming this Spring …

Black Power Blueprint is launching:

Shamba La Uhuru Freedom Farm, Uhuru Bakery & Cafe, Buy Black Power Store, African Independence Workforce Program and improvements to Black Power Vanguard Basketball Court .

Click for a video update:

The Black Power Blueprint is leading the Reparations Investment Company along with all the other growing Black Power Blueprint Programs to revitalize our community, transform our conditions and create the world we all want to live in.

Click here to read more about RIC.

To invest or volunteer, contact [email protected].

Volunteer Spotlight: Camille

Camille, who is now the N2U Volunteer Coordinator for RIC, says:

“I believe protesting and disagreeing with the system is important, but for me actions will speak louder than words ever will. The RIC allows me to work materially against colonial and oppressive systems and give power back to people from whom it was stolen.”

Eliedh Construction

We want to send our special thank you to Eliedh Construction! We have partnered with this growing family business for over 3 years. They are a fixture of the ever expanding Black Power Blueprint development process that is transforming every aspect of life in our community. We appreciate all your tremendous work and help to make housing available in our community once again!

Join Us for Upcoming Events & Programs!

JOB OPENINGS:
Help Grow Shamba La Uhuru Freedom Farm! 

Now hiring a Master Gardener and Assistant Gardener. To apply and for more information click here.

Every Sunday, 3-5pm CT
Black Power Community Rally 
Talk about and take action on the most pressing issues for our people in the wake of the tornado and the City’s ongoing disdain and neglect of our people. We need housing, health, food, and economic self-reliance. Join us at the Uhuru House, 4101 W. Florissant Ave, St Louis, MO or watch and participate online on YouTube @TheBurningSpear.

Saturday 2/28/26, 4pm-6pm EST
The Turn Up
Meet + Greet with Black Power 96 Radio DJs, artists and volunteers. Black Power 96 Radio, 1245 18th Ave S, St Petersburg, FL . RSVP to attend in person or get a link. To join online, click HERE

Friday 4/17/26- Sunday 4/19/26
APSP International Plenary Conference 2026
This Time ‘Til it’s Won! Power in Our Own Hands! It’s not just Trump, it’s the whole damn system! Click HERE for more info

May 2026
Uhuru Bakery & Cafe will be open
3719 W Florissant Ave, St. Louis, MO 63107

Black Power Blueprint purchased the first parcel of land at a sheriff’s sale in 2022 at 3901 W. Florissant, then acquired two adjacent lots—one along W. Florissant and one on Linton Avenue—combining all three into a single one-third-acre site. This land is now home to Shamba La Uhuru – Freedom Farm!

Custom Foodscapes created the design for the farm. Click the Map of Shamba la Uhuru to watch their video tour.

Before – click to view video

After.

DJM Environmental Solutions completed the lot grading and soil testing.

In early 2026, we will finish developing the site, plant it in the Spring and bring healthy food to North St. Louis, a longtime food desert. Taking back the POWER to end food apartheid in North St. Louis!

Shamba la Uhuru Freedom Farm will feature twenty-two 25-foot raised vegetable beds, a fruit orchard, berry patches, flowers, pollinator and herb gardens, Three Sisters and children’s gardens, free-range chickens, a large stage, a pavilion with picnic tables and native shade trees, a farm stand, and more.

We are transforming three abandoned properties into an urban farm and green space adjacent to the Black Power Vanguards Basketball Court, and near several other Black Power Blueprint programs revitalizing the devastated W. Florissant Corridor—bringing life back to a once-bustling Black community!

Shamba la Uhuru will beautify and transform our urban landscape, expand access to healthy food, and create a vibrant gathering place—uniting our community in the work of building power and self-determination.

Shamba la Uhuru is a community-driven program that will employ skilled farmers, train volunteers, and empower our neighbors to establish their own gardens.

Shamba La Uhuru will supply fresh vegetables and herbs to the Uhuru Bakery & Café, which is bringing delicious, healthy, homestyle food to the neighborhood and creating jobs for our community.

Another unique and beautiful feature of this farm is its cultivation and drying of sage and other traditional African plants and herbs. The celebration of African cultural life, the love we show our community, and the spirit of collective work for change are powerful gifts that Shamba la Uhuru will bring to this long-neglected neighborhood.

Shamba la Uhuru is an expansion of the Gary Brooks Community Garden, which has produced more than 1,000 pounds of organic vegetables and herbs annually and distributed them free of charge to the community for the past five years. With a much larger growing space and significantly higher yields, Shamba la Uhuru will greatly expand fresh food production for our community.

Volunteer Spotlight

“Access to food is a human right.
Access to fertile soil is a human right.
African and other colonized people have the right to fight for healthy, nutritious foods.
We want African self-determination and an end to food apartheid!”

–Ileana (left), with her husband Daniel – Black Power Blueprint newsletter staff writer

● Trevor and Mathew from Custom Foodscapes

● Bennett from DMJ Environmental Solutions

The African People’s Education and Defense Fund is looking for experienced black community gardeners to work as a Master Gardener and Assistant Gardener in our new urban farm on West Florissant! 

This is part of the Black Power Blueprint’s revitalization of the northside of St. Louis, expanding our community’s access to fresh foods and partnering with Uhuru Bakery & Cafe to bring fresh, wholesome foods to our community. 

Click here to apply or read the job descriptions.

Contact us for more information: Black Power Blueprint, 4101 W. Florissant Ave., St. Louis, MO 63115, 314-380-8016, [email protected]

Click above to watch highlights from 2025 and President Ona Zené Yeshitela’s strategic vision for 2026.

Thank you for supporting the Black Power Blueprint through a powerful year of struggle and growth!

You have made it possible for us to fight and win Black community development that restores our economic prosperity and political power.

Join us in 2026 to continue to build the world we want to see!

Black Power Blueprint Presents: MLK Day Event & Volunteer Fair

Monday, January 19th, 2026, 10am–1pm CT
Uhuru House, 4101 W Florissant Ave, St. Louis, MO 63115

Join us as we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy along with all courageous African leaders who have fought for African community self-determination and self-reliance.

This dynamic program includes historic film clips, delicious treats by our own Uhuru Bakery & Cafe and an overview of the volunteer opportunities in our community that build power back in our own hands.

Featuring a keynote presentation by Chairman Omali Yeshitela, the living legacy and leader of the Black Power Movement.

For more info email: [email protected] or call 314-380-8016.

Also streaming on: YouTube/BlackPowerBlueprint & Facebook @BlackPowerBlueprint

MLK Day, Monday, January 19

Order your MLK Day Uhuru Pies

Uhuru Pies is offering a special selection of pies to honor Martin Luther King Jr’s Legacy and support the Uhuru Movement. 

Pick up available as early as 8am on January 19 or during the MLK Day Event and Volunteer Fair at Akwaaba Hall until 1pm.

If you’re in St. Louis, MO you can join us at Akwaaba Hall, 4101 W. Florissant Ave. Register on eventbrite at tinyurl.com/heartandsoulstlouis.

If you’re in St. Petersburg, FL you can join us at Enoch Davis Center (Meeting Room 1), 1111 18th Ave. Register on eventbrite at tinyurl.com/heartandsoulstpete.

Joining remotely? Click here to register to attend via Zoom.

The event will feature thoughtful giveback gifts for all volunteers, tasty bites by Uhuru Foods & Pies, inspiring guest speakers, special awards and recognitions, uplifting stories and community connection!

From planting community gardens to clearing storm debris, painting murals, supporting the upcoming bakery café, capturing moments through photography, writing, community organizing, prepping, mixing, baking and staffing with Uhuru Pies and all the work needed to support the Black Power 96 radio station, and so much more — YOU took a stand to support self-determination and social justice for the African community, YOU made it all possible.

This event is our way of saying thank you. Whether you’ve volunteered once or a hundred times, we appreciate every effort.

Everyone is welcome — volunteers, supporters, friends, and family!

Reserve your spot today:

RSVP for St. Louis, MO
RSVP for St. Petersburg, FL
Click here to register to attend via Zoom.

Let’s celebrate the power of community together. We can’t wait to see you there!

The need for NINA was made clear by the 10 month-long fight that the African People’s Education & Defense Fund, APEDF, had to make with the City just to get a permit to renovate a building that had been a restaurant for over 20 years, to house the Uhuru Bakery & Cafe, a program of the Black Power Blueprint in the African community on the northside of St. Louis in an area long defined as a “food desert”. 

This fight was ignited when a small, unregistered “neighborhood association” contested APEDF’s right to get the permit for renovation so that Uhuru Foods could bring healthy food to an area with no grocery stores or access to healthy food. Based solely on lies and slander, their opposition delayed the Uhuru Bakery from getting the permit for over nine months, costing APEDF tens of thousands of dollars in expenses and lack of revenue. 

Clearly we needed our own neighborhood association to fight for the interests of the community! 

NINA’s Purpose states that its goal is to “improve the current quality of life in North St. Louis, fostering a sense of community and advocating for the neighborhood’s interests to become self-determining, self-reliant and self-sustaining”. 

NINA broke down the false divisions created by the city where every section of the northside is divided into different wards, vying with each other for resources. NINA represents all neighborhoods on the northside, bringing everyone together, “to contend with the status quo that keeps our neighborhoods impoverished, hungry, unemployed, derelict and with no growth to serve our people”.  

Under the dynamic leadership of NINA’s President, Sealli Moyenda, NINA has been fighting fiercely and winning tremendous public support since its inception. It has built a strong membership, holding monthly public membership meetings since January, 2025, bringing together many community organizations and individuals. 

Since the EF3 tornado hit St. Louis on May 16th, devastating the northside and damaging over 5,000 buildings, NINA joined APEDF in organizing community relief, collecting and giving out free food, water, personal hygiene products, clothing and emergency supplies to the people. 

NINA went to all the City’s Town Hall meetings to demand that the City bring massive resources to the northside. President Sealli boldly spoke out about the fact that the City government was doing nothing for our people, weeks and now over 4 months after the tornado devastated our community. He was constantly in the news, and residents aired their demands and disgust for the lying politicians at the meetings, encouraged by NINA’s stand.

Megan Green, the President of the Board of Aldermen, quoted Sealli in the St. Louis Business Journal and in her newsletter, as well as in person at the August 26th NINA meeting, stating that she agreed with NINA’s position:
    “Crossing the Delmar Divide has never been starker… From the tornado we have the ability to do things differently; to not fall into the same patterns that created the disinvestment of the Northside to begin with… Everybody has to care about what is happening on the Northside.” 

NINA brought the community together for a powerful celebration of the people’s courage and tenacity in the face of the tornado damage with the Northside Community Block Party on August 2nd, supported by a grant from the Small Dollar Action Fund. Community organizations and vendors set up booths; Uhuru Foods & Pies gave away hot dogs and sweet potato pies, and children had their faces painted and played on the bouncy castle. Information was given out to the community on how to get funding for tornado damage and there was a dynamic program from the stage with music, drumming, singers and rappers, giveaways and speakers. 

APEDF presented a large donation to Erion “Prop-man” Johnson, who is building tiny houses for people who lost their homes. He brought his students, enthusiastic young Africans, who expressed their appreciation for their training in Youth Builders.

NINA is leading a united fight for genuine economic development and political power to transform the lives of African people in St. Louis! 

JOIN NINA! ninastl.org • [email protected] • 314-246-0311

APEDF salutes the outstanding work of African and Mexican contractors who live and work in North St. Louis!

Black Power Blueprint is renovating houses and bringing power back to the African community!

By Daniel Colchado

In North St. Louis, Uhuru Bakery & Café is rising as a symbol of community resilience, self-determination, and social transformation. After many months of struggle to obtain a building permit, an effort blocked by the city government, the space will be more than a bakery. This community institution will be a refuge from the legacy of colonialism that has left our neighborhoods neglected and scarred.

Against the odds and roof damage from the recent devastating tornado, construction on site has continued. Through the power of the people, volunteers, coordinators, and laborers, Uhuru Bakery & Café has laid its foundations, framed walls, installed HVAC, and created a welcoming patio for neighbors to gather. Uhuru Bakery & Cafe will open as soon as September 2025!

Uhuru Bakery & Cafe is Key to the growing Black Power Blueprint on the W. Florissant Corridor

The café is not just another business. Uhuru Bakery & Café is a keystone of the Black Power Blueprint that is revitalizing the West Florissant Corridor. It honors the freedom that its name carries by rooting it in human dignity. This is part of Black Power Blueprint projects to reclaim land, resources and power for the African community. Our people will be able to enjoy a meal, conversation, and belonging.

This act of solidarity was noted by the neighbors, many of whom had previously been supporters and advocates of the restaurant opening when it faced obstacles by the city government. Neighbors also expressed enthusiasm for the menu offerings of vegan jerk chicken sandwiches, burgers, breakfast and pies, and eagerly await the café’s opening.

There is still work to do. Uhuru Bakery & Café is seeking chefs, crafting its final menu and calling on volunteers to help paint the bakery with more volunteer opportunities in early July. These finishing touches are not just cosmetic, but also an invitation for the community to shape this space as a home away from home.

Volunteer Spotlight: Nathan!

Join Us for Upcoming Events & Programs!

7/9 – Wednesday, 6-10pm CT
Solidarity with the Northside! Benefit for Black Power Blueprint. Music, Poetry, Dance, Food & Drinks, Raffle. Work & Leisure 3015 Locust St. St. Louis MO. Tickets $25, click above or Blackpowerblueprint.org/benefit, more info uhurusolidarity.org 314-328-4816

7/12 – Saturday, 9am CT
Volunteer Workday: Garden and Projects. Meet at the Gary Brooks Community Garden 4031 W. Florissant Ave. Contact Stephanie 727-510-4360 to sign up or email [email protected]

7/26 – Saturday, 9am CT
Volunteer Workday: Garden. Meet at the Gary Brooks Community Garden, 4031 W. Florissant Ave. Contact Stephanie 727-510-4360 to sign up or email [email protected]

7/26 – Saturday, 10am-3pm CT
One Africa! One Nation! Farmers Market. **New location** due to tornado damage: 4101-4031 W. Florissant Ave outside the Uhuru House & the Gary Brooks Community Garden. Vendor and volunteer info at OneAfricaMarket.com

7/29 – Tuesday, 6pm CT
Open Community Meeting of the Northside Independent Neighborhood Association (NINA). Uhuru House 4101 W. Florissant Ave. Everyone is welcome! More info NINASTL.org 314-246-0311 [email protected]

8/2 – Saturday, 11am-4pm CT
Northside Community Block Party. On West Florissant from Adelaide to Alice. Free Food, Music, Games & Prizes, Tornado Relief Supplies, Basketball, Vendors. To vend, have a free info table, join the team or volunteer 314-246-0311 or [email protected]

Every Sunday, 3-5pm CT
Black Community Tornado Response Rally. Talk about and take action on the most pressing issues for our people in the wake of the tornado and the City’s ongoing disdain and neglect of our people. We need housing, health, food, and economic self-reliance. Join us at the Uhuru House, 4101 W. Florissant Ave, St Louis, MO or watch and participate online on YouTube @TheBurningSpear

Join us for spectacular evening of Solidarity with the Northside! All proceeds benefit the Black Power Blueprint, Black community programs for self-determination and economic development, rebuilding the Northside in the aftermath of the tornado devastation!

Solidarity with the Northside! is a tribute to the profound resilience of the African community and the longstanding fight for social and economic justice! 

• Singers
• Poets
• Dancers
• Musicians
• Storytellers
• Raffle Prizes from Local Artists & Businesse

Enjoy tasty bites by Uhuru Foods & Pies in a beautiful space donated by Work and Leisure.

$25 registration for the event.
Purchase your raffle tickets & register here.

We greatly appreciate Work and Leisure for  donating their gorgeous space for this benefit. Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate and raise much needed funds.

Located at 3015 Locust Street in Midtown, just a few blocks east of Saint Louis University and the Fox Theatre, Work & Leisure is a non-traditional, 5,000 sq. ft. event venue offering a customizable floor layout, three bar areas, bocce ball, shuffleboard, staging and much more.
Let’s fill up the space on Wed, July 9th for the Northside!

Special thank you to Uhuru Solidarity Movement for sponsoring this benefit!