US Department of Education Resources

…f color to escape to freedom. From Slavery to Freedom at the Senator John Heinz History Center features a new 3,200 square foot long-term exhibition, an anthology The Civil War in Pennsylvania: The African American Experience (Heinz History Center, 2013), groundbreaking research displayed in the exhibit and online microsite, scholarly lectures at the museum or through our partnership with the Center for African American Urban Studies and the Econ…

Crisis Decade (1850 – 1860)

…women. Weeksville resident Junius C. Morel and Brooklyn resident Robert H. Cousins were among the speakers and organizers that day. This pamphlet was also part of that fundraising effort, which was ultimately successfully. Approximately 5,000 New Yorkers gathered at Broadway and City Park in Manhattan to celebrate his return. He was reunited with his wife Harriet and three young children, and a final celebration took place at the AME Church in B…

About the Project

…tensive on-line curriculum, an original theater piece by Irondale Ensemble Project, a website (pursuitoffreedom.org), walking tours and a memorial to Brooklyn Abolitionists that will be part of the new Willoughby Square Park when it opens in 2016. In Pursuit of Freedom Project Credits Executive Directors Brooklyn Historical Society, Deborah Schwartz Irondale Ensemble Project, Terry Greiss Weeksville Heritage Center, Pamela Green In Pursuit of Fre…

Timeline

…in Kings County fell into three broad categories: – the efforts of black people, both enslaved and indentured, to secure their own emancipation through running away, manumission and self-purchase, – the legal mediation carried by an anti-slavery organization called the New-York Manumission Society, – a grassroots campaign for equality initiated by Brooklyn’s free black community. Their work was frequently met with hostility from…

Abolitionist Brooklyn (1828 – 1849)

…ry immediately and demand political and legal equality for all Americans. In July 1834, anti-abolition riots flared across Manhattan. In response, a number of white abolitionists relocated to Brooklyn, where they joined a thriving anti-slavery movement led by black Brooklynites for over two decades. The Panic of 1837 led to a decade-long economic depression that ended Brooklyn’s rapid growth. Reduced property prices enticed black New Yorkers to b…

Exhibitions

…h a revolutionary vision of freedom and equality. For opening times and directions please visit brooklynhistory.org Weeksville: Lived Experiences In Pursuit of Freedom Weeksville: Lived Experiences In Pursuit of Freedom Weeksville, an intentional African American community exemplifies a crucial aspect of freedom in Brooklyn’s anti-slavery movement. In the spirit of creativity, which inspired the founders and residents of the historic communit…