Returning home to Harlem after undergraduate college, Talib Hudson knew he wanted to have an impact on his neighborhood. The fear Harlem teenagers have of gun violence was the drive behind Hudson’s founding the nonprofit think tank the New Hood.
Hudson grew up in Harlem in the 1980s and ’90s, during the crack cocaine epidemic. Witnessing that influenced his thoughts about a need for a public policy center that speaks to people’s experiences.
“When I was growing up, a lot of folks used to say, ‘Oh, you have to get out the ’hood, you have to get out the ’hood,’” said Hudson. “I remember thinking, ‘Well, why do we have to get out? Why can’t we build a community here where we can stay, but, just have it be better?’”
The New Hood, founded in 2021, is a nonprofit think tank, “empowering urban Black and Latinx communities through community-based policy ideas, research, and solutions.”
After his 2004 graduation from George Washington University, Hudson was introduced to urban development and policy while working for an economic development association in Washington, D.C. In one of his roles, he witnessed how the government and think tanks work.
“‘Who’s writing a policy for the ’hood? Where are our voices in this?’” he wondered. “That was part of my experience. My education, formally and informally, in Washington, D.C., is what provided the foundation for what is becoming the New Hood.”
When naming his think tank, Hudson wanted to reflect the experiences of people from the ’hood and represent the certain flair that Black people in America bring to things, whether jazz, hip-hop, or sports. “I thought if it’s going to reflect the ’hood, then it should reflect the Æhood in that way as well,” he said. “The name, the New Hood, for a think tank is intentionally different.”
In 2010, before forming the New Hood, Hudson was pursuing his master’s degree in urban policy analysis and management at the New School. He was under the impression he’d enter a career focusing in community development and community development finance.
Joe Rogers, a friend of his who is executive director of the Harlem-based literacy organization Total Equity Now, asked him to co-facilitate youth workshops. When asking teenagers about the issues they faced in their communities, Hudson heard the answer of violence, specifically gun violence, repeatedly. The fear of getting shot, stabbed, or jumped was a reality for them.
“That was a bit shocking to me, to be honest,” Hudson said. “I feel somewhat embarrassed to say [it] because I don’t remember it being like that when I was their age, growing up in New York. At the time, this was before the shooting in Connecticut — the Sandy Hook Newtown shooting. This was before gun violence was [nationally prominent] like it’s been in the past several years.”
Hudson reflected on the lack of conversation about the fact that young people felt unsafe in their neighborhood due to a fear of bodily harm. “Where’s the policy for that?” he said. “That was the genesis of me trying to figure out how to address that problem.”
In 2011, looking for ways to get involved in violence prevention in the community, Hudson was recommended to work with Iesha Sekou, founder of Street Corner Resources. She became a mentor to Hudson and trained him. “I would not be where I am in my career without Iesha Sekou. I can say that without a doubt,” said Hudson.
Hudson first brought the idea of the New Hood to Kristin Morse, executive director of the New School’s Center for New York City Affairs, in 2016. He was earning his doctorate in public and urban policy from the school at the time. Entering a doctoral program while working full-time did not give Hudson the ability to build the New Hood with the vision he had in mind until 2021.
In 2021, he led a webinar and a couple of policy essay series about community healing policy, supported by the Center for New York City Affairs, where he had an administrative capacity through hosting the webinar and handling promotion. Being connected with the New School allowed Hudson to raise money thanks to the institution’s 501c3 status.
“It’s almost like a fiscal sponsorship in a way,” said Hudson. “The Center for New York City Affairs and the New School have been very supportive in providing the soil for which to have a rose try to grow from concrete.” Being affiliated with the university also helps bolster his credibility in policy work.
Gun violence prevention is at the center of Hudson’s full-time role as well. He works with the Black and Brown Collective for Community Solutions to Gun Violence, a group of Black and Brown researchers whose mission is to enhance safety and wellness in communities around the United States.
Hudson’s work continues to excite him. He enjoys watching people realize how the government works through his presentation for the New Hood — an introduction to government and public policy. When attendees start to see how it works, they are empowered.
“As long as they have a sound mind, you can never take away someone’s education. That’s part of the legacy of who we are as a people. That’s why education has been so important to us as a people, because no one can take that from you. Once you know, you can’t not know. I think that’s really powerful.”