Aaron Wiggs is a community organiser and fundraiser who, in the wake of personal tragedy due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the emotional consequences of the Black Lives Matter movement, decided to spend the summer of 2020 turning a sidewalk in Brooklyn into a fundraising opportunity - the 'BLM sidewalk'.

The event was first promoted on social media through Wiggs’s alter-ego, Viking-helmet-wearing ‘Uncle Leroy’ who swigs a can of cold modelo beer, and invites all to join him at the north side of McGolrick Park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn where he’s “selling all types of crazy swag”, followed by a montage of Supreme gear. It’s a hilarious and touching video which ends with a Black Power salute and a reminder that “Black lives matter” - and Wiggs/Leroy’s efforts so far have raised over $266,000 for various charities and community causes such as Emergency Release Funds and Black Trans Femmes in Art.

Text Jason Okundaye