For generations, African Guyanese have been told they are not good at business, that they cannot succeed, that entrepreneurship lies beyond their reach. It is a myth long used to diminish and discourage. Yet history tells a very different story. In the immediate post Emancipation era, African Guyanese built villages, economies and institutions that formed the most expansive Village Movements in the entire British Commonwealth.
With pride, many recall that on 7 November 1839, a group of 83 ex slaves pooled their savings to purchase the former sugar plantation Northbrook for $30,000 guilders, renamed Victoria, making it the first village independently bought and owned by freed Africans in British Guiana. The sale was formally completed in 1840, but 7 November 1839 remains the decisive date that marked this groundbreaking act of collective enterprise.
That legacy of self-determination and economic innovation lives on today in places far from the Caribbean, including New York City, where ESRA Realty LLC has just celebrated its 100th anniversary. The story of ESRA Realty LLC stands as a powerful testament to resilience and again proves that the myth of African Guyanese economic incapacity was never grounded in truth.
Founded in 1925, the company began as Edwards Sisters Realty, created by three Guyanese-born sisters Millicent, Sarah and Lucille Edwards. They migrated to the United States in pursuit of the American dream and settled in Harlem, New York, where they saw a glaring shortage of community housing. Determined to meet that need, they created one of the first Black owned and operated real estate firms in New York State. Their work echoed the entrepreneurial spirit of their ancestors who rebuilt their lives and communities in the post emancipation era.
Today, their descendants appear on the cover of a special edition publication. The current owners are Ramona Grey Harris, Maurice Russell Grey and Aden Seraile, representing the second and third generation of Guyanese Americans who continue to steward the family business.
Long before this centennial milestone, one of the founding sisters had already made history. In 1929, Lucille Edwards Chance became one of only four Black females to graduate from New York University (NYU) Law School and the first Black practising female attorney in the State of New York. She merged her legal expertise with real estate knowledge to strengthen the services offered by Edwards Sisters Realty Associates.
Between 1948 and 1968, Lucille served as president of the Harlem Taxpayers and Property Owners Association. She later became a director of Freedom National Bank from 1966 to 1971, served as a member of the New York State Electoral College in 1968 and presided over the Inner City Housing and Development Council from 1972 to 1980. Many considered her the driving force of the business and a mainstay in the Harlem community.
Earlier this year, the company participated in a legacy event hosted by Chase Bank, a nod to its longevity and impact in New York’s real estate industry.
Today, ESRA Realty LLC is recognized as the oldest Black family owned real estate firm in Harlem. In a city where markets change rapidly and minority businesses often face systemic obstacles, this century long survival stands as a remarkable achievement.
Grey Harris offered insight into the company’s evolution.
“Lucille and Millicent are my aunts, Sarah is my mother and they are born and raised in Guyana. My grandmother was born in Guyana from Barbadian parents. We have owned up to 60 buildings. Currently, we manage and do sales. We have 14 office staff,” she said.
Over the years, thousands of families have purchased homes through the firm, and many more have lived in buildings owned or managed by the company. ESRA now provides property management, real estate law, mortgages, brokerage and appraisals.
She further explained some of the obstacles they have faced.
“We currently have a multi staff. Ownership of properties comes with numerous issues: red lining, lack of banks giving mortgages and city regulations. Our clientele are multi ethnic and where the buildings are located often decide who lives in the area,” she said.
To celebrate its 100th anniversary, ESRA hosted a grand gala at the Alhambra Ballroom in New York on Friday, November 14. It was an evening filled with pride, reflection and a powerful sense of continuity in Black entrepreneurship.
Grey Harris expressed gratitude for the company’s endurance and adaptability. She remains optimistic about the future and committed to honouring the legacy built by her mother and aunts.
A Century of Proof That the Myth Was Never True
The Edwards sisters’ legacy is more than a business milestone. It is a cultural correction, a reminder that African Guyanese entrepreneurship is not an exception but a tradition with deep roots. Just as communities rebuilt themselves in the post emancipation era through the Village Movement, the Edwards sisters laid foundations that have supported families for a century.
One hundred years after three Guyanese women opened a real estate firm in a Harlem that did not always welcome them, their family continues to own, manage and lead. ESRA Realty stands as living evidence that African Guyanese can build, can lead, can succeed and have been doing so for generations.
The myth that once sought to confine them has been shattered, not by argument but by a century of undeniable achievement.
Story adapted from Kaieteur News
