John Edward Bruce
RISEUP (Research Initiatives for the Strategic Empowerment of the Urban Populace) is proud to announce a special ceremony honoring the legacy of John Edward Bruce, a pioneering Black journalist, activist, and intellectual, who was buried in an unmarked grave at Oakland Cemetery in Yonkers for over 100 years.
On Saturday, August 9, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., RISEUP will host a Headstone Revealing Ceremony at Oakland Cemetery in Yonkers to mark the placement of a permanent headstone for Bruce. This event follows last year’s temporary marker placement ceremony, where Mayor Mike Spano issued an official proclamation recognizing August 11th as John Edward Bruce Day in the City of Yonkers.
Thanks to the dedication of community partners and generous donors, RISEUP successfully raised the $5,000 necessary for the headstone, which has now been completed by Minozzi and Sons, and on August 1st, we will be setting the headstone at Oakland Cemetary in Yonkers New York. A special thank you goes out to our major supporters: the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA-ACL), New York State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, New York State Assemblyman Nader Sayegh, the Beczak Environmental Education Center, the NAACP Yonkers Branch, Symra Brandon, CEO & President of Municipal Housing Authority City of Yonkers Wilson Kimball, and the City of Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, along with many residents and organizations that contributed.
In addition to the headstone fundraiser, RISEUP’s president, Dr. Robert Baskerville has hosted multiple presentations on JEB’s contributions and was recently awarded a $25,000 Digital Justice Seed Grant from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) to begin production on History With Grit, a pilot documentary focusing on Bruce’s life in Yonkers. https://www.acls.org/recent-fellows/?program_id=40091&_project_year=2025
The public is invited to attend this important celebration of Black history in Yonkers. For media inquiries or more information, please contact Harold McKoy II at the information above.
