🔦 Black Light: Elected Leader of the Week

Chi Ossé – Brooklyn’s Boldest Voice for Youth & Justice

By Alwin Marshall-Squire

In the corridors of New York City Hall, where power often looks the same and speaks the same, Chi Ossé stands out. At just 25 years old, Ossé became the youngest Black member ever elected to the New York City Council when he took office in 2022, representing Brooklyn’s 36th District, covering Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights.

Today, he remains a fearless advocate for housing justice, police reform, and community-led governance — giving voice to issues that resonate deeply with Black and Caribbean communities across NYC and the diaspora.

From Organizer to City Council

Before running for office, Ossé was a frontline activist in the Black Lives Matter movement, organizing mass protests against police brutality after the murder of George Floyd. He co-founded Viral Justice, a grassroots group that pushed for systemic change in policing and public safety.

Bringing that energy into the formal political space, Ossé ran a youth-led campaign and won — bringing urgency, fresh ideas, and unapologetic advocacy to City Hall.

Champion for Housing & Tenant Rights

Ossé has quickly become a leading voice on tenant protections, eviction prevention, and affordable housing, particularly in gentrifying Black neighborhoods. His proposals aim to:

• Expand tenant organizing protections

• Strengthen rent stabilization laws

• Increase affordable housing quotas in luxury developments

For communities like Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights — long seen as the beating heart of Black Brooklyn — Ossé’s leadership is about survival and dignity.

Policing & Youth Empowerment

Continuing his activist roots, Ossé has pushed for:

• Non-police crisis response teams

• Investment in youth employment programs

• Support for restorative justice initiatives in schools and neighborhoods

He remains a bridge between protest movements and the levers of municipal power, proving that youth activism can become institutional leadership without losing its fire.

Why It Matters

Chi Ossé’s story reminds us that young, queer, Black leadership is not the future — it’s the present. His work in New York City Council offers a model for how local elected leaders can challenge the status quo and bring movements for justice into the chambers of decision-making.

For the Caribbean diaspora, Black youth, and global urban centers alike, Ossé is a symbol of what’s possible when the streets claim the seat at the table.

Black Light is Vision Newspaper’s weekly editorial spotlight on Black elected leaders around the world — amplifying the voices shaping justice, democracy, and change from inside the system.

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