We were here. We were alive. We were fierce. We defined cool. : Authentic Brooklyn

Brooklyn's everywhere. As a logos-centered native, I have always thought this was true. Definitely in the 90s- when I grew up- the borough's collective ego just assumed we were supreme. Staten Island was a land dump, Queens may as well as have been the quiet extension of Long Island, and the Bronx was a Robert Moses created waste land of crime and poverty. Manhattan was of course magnificent Manhattan, but still devoid of the character and culture that Brooklyn evoked. Brooklyn was the mecca for urban cool-not mired in a desire to live up to history like Harlem, but innovative, charming, and enjoying ourselves despite the real life issues of violence, gangs, poverty, and crime that was part of our day to day lives.

We were here. We were alive. We were fierce. We defined cool.

Lest it be mistaken, this idea of awesomeness was not solely confined to the minds of Brooklynites. If nothing else, pop culture and current events continued to validate our importance. Going back to Hollywood's golden era, Lana Turner starred in Ziegfeld Girl as Sheila Regan a Brooklyn girl from Flatbush, trying to make it big. Other movies like The Lords of Flatbush, Saturday Night Fever, and Crooklyn were also based here. Later, Brooklyn would be the setting for popular television shows such as Welcome Back Kotter, The Cosby Show, and Living Single. Jackie Robinson played for our teams, Amelia Earhart lived here, Walt Whiman wrote about us, and Barbara Streisand is counted among our favorite daughters. Pop culture reaffirmed that were were more than the place where a tree grows. We are where legends thrive.

We were worldwide.

And then hip hop happened.