Hanifa was first elected to City Council in 2004. Today, she is honored to be serving her third term as the representative of the 4th District —one of the most diverse districts in Wilmington. The 4th District encompasses unique neighborhoods such as Midtown Brandywine, Trinity Vicinity, Eastside, and Southbridge, as well as the downtown and riverfront districts and the Port of Wilmington.

Hanifa’s public service includes being a member of several active city council committees, including the Public Works and Transportation Committee; the Finance Committee; the Education, Youth, and Families Committee; and the Housing and Licenses and Inspections Committee. As a result of her mission to pursue innovation and positive change, Hanifa has achieved a series of noteworthy accomplishments. Most recently, she asked the National Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to come to Wilmington to study the epidemic of gun violence among young African-American men. She also engaged Delaware’s congressional leaders to support her request that the CDC issue a report outlining  recommendations  to curb  the violent behavior and resources to help fund those solutions.

In an effort to make neighborhood streets safer, Hanifa conceived the “Light Up the Fourth District” initiative that empowered the community to identify non-working, dimming, or obstructed streetlights for immediate repair. Hanifa also led an effort to reform Wilmington’s street parking system in 2007 when she convened a downtown parking summit, which resulted in significant changes regarding the availability of on-street parking and consumer-friendly reforms in the way tickets are issued for parking violations.

As an entrepreneur herself, Hanifa has a mind for how businesses can prosper in Wilmington while simultaneously supporting local communities. She was the first elected official to implement the Neighborhood Assistance Act, whereby businesses and corporations invest in low and middle-income neighborhoods and make contributions to non-profit organizations in support of their projects in exchange for a 50 percent tax credit. She also helped form pioneering community coalitions that secured the first of six Community Benefit Agreements in the state of Delaware in which businesses invest and partner in the community by formally agreeing to create jobs and engage in business growth in ways that would provide opportunities for residents.

For the past 12 years, Hanifa has proudly served the City of Wilmington’s 4th District as a champion for working families, young people, the underserved, and small-business owners. Born on the city’s eastside, Hanifa was educated in the Wilmington public school system, graduated from Wilmington High School, and continued her studies at Wilmington University. More than 35 years ago, she purchased a home in the Southbridge section of the city through the Wilmington Homestead Program, a neighborhood-preservation effort. It was there that she raised her two daughters, who are also products of the public school system.
Hanifa’s journey as a business owner and public servant began in May 1985 with the opening of Haneef’s Bookstore and Mosi Art Gallery, a community resource for African American history, art, and culture. At their Vandever Avenue location, Hanifa and her former husband provided a business incubator that led to Drumbeat Publishing, a full-range printing house that published local authors and writers, as well as the widely read and respected community newspaper Drumbeat.

In 1995, Hanifa went on to open her restaurant, Hanifa’s Kitchen, also on Vandever Avenue, which operated under the motto “Where We Eat to Live.” The business effectively became the community’s kitchen away from home.
As lifelong community organizer and cultural educator, Hanifa has worked continuously to provide innovative programs and activities to the City of Wilmington. She established Wilmington’s first African Festival, which was held in Brandywine Park and Kirkwood Park for many years. At the height of its popularity, the festival grew to a multiple-day event that drew more than 100,000 people.
Today, Hanifa is principal owner of HGNS Consulting, a business and program development, management, and event-planning firm. She is also employed by Connections CSP, Inc., as a business and workforce development manager.
On multiple occasions, she has been recognized for her decades of leadership around community engagement and economic development, including being awarded an honorary doctorate degree of from Virginia University of Lynchburg.

Her City and Her Family

Wilmington City Council Member

Hanifa was elected to her first four-year City Council term in 2004. Today, she is honored to be serving her third term as the representative of more than 9,000 residents of the City’s 4th District - - one of the most diverse district in Wilmington. The 4th District encompasses many unique neighborhoods such as Midtown Brandywine, Trinity Vicinity, Eastside, and Southbridge, as well as, the downtown and riverfront districts and the Port of Wilmington. Hanifa chairs City Council’s Public Works and Transportation Committees and is a member of the Finance Committee, the Education, Youth and Families Committee and the Housing and Licenses and Inspections Committee. As a result of Hanifa’s mission to pursue innovation and positive change, she has been able to achieve a series of accomplishments for her constituents. Most recently, Hanifa asked the National Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to come to Wilmington to study what she sees as an epidemic of violence among young African-American men and youths who are dying at alarming rates because of violence perpetrated with guns. As Councilperson and an activist citizen, Hanifa engaged Delaware’s Congressional leaders to support her request to the CDC to conduct the study of violence in Wilmington. Hanifa is hoping that the CDC, which is expected to issue a report early in 2015, will provide some solutions to the violent behavior and the resources to help fund the solutions. Hanifa was the first elected official to implement the Neighborhood Assistance Act whereby businesses and corporations invest in low and middle-income neighborhoods and make contributions to non-profit organizations in support of their projects in exchange for a 50% tax credit. She also encouraged and helped form pioneering community coalitions that secured the first of six Community Benefit Agreements in the state where again, businesses invest and partner in the local community by formally agreeing to create jobs and engage in business growth in ways that provide opportunities for local residents to attain livable wage jobs and see local businesses in their communities that add value.. In an effort to make the neighborhood streets safer, she conceived the “Light Up the Fourth District” initiative that empowered the community to identify non-working, dimming or obstructed street lights for immediate repair. Hanifa also led an effort to reform Wilmington’s street parking system when she convened a downtown parking summit in 2007 which resulted in significant changes regarding the availability of on-street parking and consumer-friendly reforms in the way tickets are issued for parking violations.

Focusing on what she identified as the 4 E’s, which are Education, Empowerment, Economics and Environment, Hanifa organized lower wealth communities into developing their own community-driven revitalization plans known as the Special Area Management Plan for the South Bridge neighborhood; the Blueprint Community: Eastside Rising Plan for the Eastside neighborhood; and West Center City Futures for the preservation of the West Center City section of the City. These three neighborhoods have witnessed their well-conceived written plans move into the implementation stage. A few years ago, Hanifa also addressed a pressing economic empowerment issue by creating the PAID Program, a 12-week intensive Preparatory Apprentice Instruction Development Program that assisted individuals in successfully passing the various construction trade union entrance exams. Graduates of the PAID Program became employed in various businesses, including the construction trades.

Professional Certifications, Memberships and Affiliations

Member, National League of Cities
President Elect  National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials
Diamond Certification from National League of Cities Leadership Training University
Board Trustee, Delaware HIV Consortium
Chair, Delaware Chapter Delaware Black Caucus,
Chair, 4th Ward Democratic City Committee
Wilmington Riverfront Business Improvement District 
Board Director, Wilmington UDAG Board Member,
Henrietta Johnson Medical Center, Advisory Board Member,
National Coalition of 100 Black Women, DE Chapter 
Certified Health Advisor – Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse University Governors Leadership DE 
Certified Community Economic Development Specialist, University of Delaware 
Licensed Customhouse Broker, Department of the Treasury, Philadelphia
Delaware Democratic State Party Political Leader Elected Official Delegate 
First Vice Chair, Delaware Democratic City Committee
Delaware Leadership Board 
Delaware Democratic Women Political Committee 
Member, DACBDO (Delaware Association of Community Based Development Organizations) 
Board Director, SURJ (Stand Up for What Is Right and Just) 
Delaware Association of Non-Profit Agencies