Black in Nineteenth-Century Brooklyn
In 1838, just eleven years after New York State abolished slavery, a free Black man named James Weeks made his first purchase of land in Brooklyn. In the same year, Green-Wood Cemetery was established as one of the first rural cemeteries in the United States. This tour begins with a survey of the many prominent Black New Yorkers and abolitionists laid to rest at the Cemetery, including Margaret Pine (1778–1857), the last woman to have lived as a slave in New York, Susan Smith McKinney Steward (1847–1918), whose family owned land in Weeksville and who became first black female doctor in the state, and the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1959–1988), among many others. Then we head to Weeksville Heritage Center in Crown Heights to learn about its history (one of America’s largest free Black communities prior to the Civil War) through the stories of its residents.
Day of Remembrance
Green-Wood Cemetery 500 25th Street, BrooklynRemembrance is a unifying force when the pain of separation is validated and shared. This special evening embraces both the sadness and wisdom that stems from the loss of a loved one. With carefully selected poetry and music, we will share a beautiful series of rituals designed to heal and restore. The evening will conclude with the lighting of memorial lanterns at sunset and launching them onto Valley Water, a glacial pond near Green-Wood’s historic chapel.