Abolitionist Brooklyn (1828 – 1849)

…political scene in the United States. On December 4, 1833, sixty-two reformers met in Philadelphia to form the American Anti-Slavery Society, establishing their headquarters in Manhattan. Abolitionism resulted from two political impulses – black activism and white evangelical perfection. As a result, the movement attracted men and women, black and white, from different social classes. It was the first time in U.S. history that activists crossed…

Abolitionist Biographies

…al in which he was accused of infidelity. COUSINS, Robert H Robert H. Cousins Anti-Slavery Activist, homeowner, businessman, downtown Brooklyn resident. Robert Cousins was born in Virginia around 1800 and moved to Brooklyn in 1840. There, he joined the AME Church and the Brooklyn African Tompkins Society, a mutual aid organization committed to the “improvement of the members in morals and literature, by forming a library and other appropriate mea…

Crisis Decade (1850 – 1860)

…he work easier. Murrows faced challenges in promoting his invention. He was not permitted to showcase it at the American Institute Fair in 1853 (a precursor to the World Fair), so it was exhibited by a white man instead. The invention won the silver medal. Despite this success, Murrows was unable to secure financing for his business – the Brooklyn Brush Manufacturing Company. In 1855, Lewis Tappan urged his fellows abolitionists to invest in the…

Civil War & Beyond (1861 – 1867)

…x and Tilden Foundations. From Monday, July 13 to Thursday, July 16, 1863, mobs of white people, mostly working class Irishmen, tore through Manhattan’s streets. What began as a mass protest against the draft turned into a full-blown riot. Mobs attacked public buildings, businesses, the mayor’s residence, police station, the Armory and the Colored Orphan Asylum. Some of the worst atrocities were committed against black New Yorkers. New York’s Dra…

Timeline

…political scene in the United States. On December 4, 1833, sixty-two reformers met in Philadelphia to form the American Anti-Slavery Society, establishing their headquarters in Manhattan. Abolitionism resulted from two political impulses – black activism and white evangelical perfection. As a result, the movement attracted men and women, black and white, from different social classes. It was the first time in U.S. history that activists crossed…

Games

…for his “adjustable brush” for whitewashing and painting varnish in 1854. He is one of Brooklyn’s many African- American business owners that had to overcome many social, political, and economic obstacles to become a successful entrepreneur. Turn Verein Hall During the New York City Draft riots, African-Americans sought refuge at Turn Verein Hall, protected by German immigrants who were allied with antislavery Republicans. James Hamlet Williamsbu…

For Educators

…burg insisted that slavery be brought to an immediate end and demanded legal and political equality for African Americans. Brooklyn’s abolitionists and anti-slavery activists were ordinary people who came from all walks of life—educators, homeowners, businessmen and women, church leaders, journalists, and writers. They created vital local, regional, and national networks of communication and solidarity that advanced their anti-slavery ideals. In…

A Gradual Emancipation (1783 – 1827)

The American Revolution birthed a paradox. As patriots championed their own freedom from the British they continued to enslave people of African descent. Brooklyn was the slaveholding capital of New York State. But anti-slavery sentiment grew in the early republic. Many enslaved people of African descent and white Quakers used the rhetoric of the Revolutionary War to demand civil rights and broaden the ideology of freedom. As a result, manumissi…