Taj Gibson, raised in Ingersoll Housing of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, is a 16-year NBA veteran and the founder of the Taj Gibson Foundation. He provides underserved youth with mentorship, education, and outreach services through this nonprofit. Growing up, he attended P.S. 67, a school close to his heart, so even today, he wears the number 67 as a tribute to these roots. Taj spent much of his youth in the Fort Greene and Downtown Brooklyn areas, including Commodore Barry Park, Fort Greene Park, and the Farragut and Ingersoll Housing courts. These spaces were integral in shaping who he is today. “Fort Greene is the epitome of who I am,” he says. “The more you invest in your community, the more love you get back.”

The Taj Gibson Foundation has organized food drives, school supply giveaways, coat drives, and community barbecues that began as simple gestures and grew into neighborhood staples. “We’re not doing this for notoriety,” he explains. “We’re doing it because this is how we grew up.”

Mentors like Ed Dewey, Coach Saleem, and Ed “Booger” Smith taught Taj what it meant to bring people together. His foundation now offers everything from funeral assistance to educational support. Taj also helps lead affordable housing efforts through the GFB Development, ensuring local voices are heard and respected. Taj does this to ensure more people have access to resources and feel safe and supported. 

Taj is also very passionate about aiding the next generation of Fort Greene. For him, supporting youth emotionally, mentally, and spiritually is a must. “We have to protect them,” he says. “They are dealing with so much, and sometimes all they need is someone to tell them to stay focused, to go home, to keep going even when it gets tough.” The ultimate goal for Taj is to create a safe space where youth can grow into leaders, entrepreneurs, and visionaries who feel empowered to embrace new paths.

“Let’s get back to speaking to one another”, Taj proclaims when reflecting on the message he hopes to leave behind. To him, community is not just a word but a bond. It is the aunties and uncles who looked out for him, the deli workers who remember his favorite order, and the mentors who guided him toward the NBA.

Today, Taj continues to give back and look for innovative ways to provide for Fort Greene. Not as a star but as a neighbor, mentor, and son of the neighborhood, he hopes to help build a future where Fort Greene symbolizes strength, unity, and endless potential.