Episode 01 · Brooklyn, NY
Bed-Stuy, Do or Die
How a survival creed became a brand — and who actually kept the neighborhood alive.
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Bed-Stuy, do or die.1
30 years ago, that wasn't a catchy slogan.
And these homes weren't 2 million dollars2.
But today, Brooklyn is different.
Do or die is just a bit of historic edge.
But this wasn't always a brand.
It was a survivalist creed3.
Bed-Stuy even had its own motto: "Bed-Stuy do or die."1
When government aid went ghost4 in the 80s and 90s, the "die" was literal.
We're talking about a neighborhood hit by the triple threat of redlining5, government divestment4, and the crack epidemic6.
The struggles led Bed-Stuy to be a breeding ground for Hip-hop pioneers and storytellers like Big Daddy Kane, Biggie, Jay-Z, and Lil Kim7.
They took the "do or die" grit and made it a global export.
They took the struggle and made it look like a superpower.
But here's the thing about cool: once it's established, it's for sale.
And now we've commodified the trauma3,
selling $60 hoodies featuring "do or die"—a slogan that was originally about not ending up in a body bag.
Since 1990, the murder rate in the 79th and 81st precincts8
have dropped by over 80%8.
In that same time frame, the median home price has gone from $100,000 to $1.3 million9.
Now brokers sell the authentic
Bed-Stuy charm to people who would've been afraid to walk the streets when guys that looked like BIGGIE were on the corner.
But don't get it twisted—gentrifiers didn't save this neighborhood10.
This is Restoration Plaza, the first community development corporation in the United States of America11.
When government aid went ghost, organizations like the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation11 used the "do or die" spirit from within,
funding local businesses and providing mortgages12 to people in the community.
When the media called it a ghetto, The Brownstoners of Bed-Stuy13 stood up to preserve and promote these iconic brownstones.
When people were dying at an alarming rate, The Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps14 stood up and began providing emergency medical training and services, saving the lives of people in the community that would've otherwise been lost.
As Bed-Stuy shifts into a world of luxury developments and skyrocketing rents15, we have to ask ourselves if that "do or die" energy is being preserved or just polished.
Brownstones here sell for millions.2
The struggle has shifted from survival to retention.
But make no mistake—the Bed-Stuy we see today exists because 40 years ago, when the city said die, this community chose to do.
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