A Gradual Emancipation (1783 – 1827)

…84) all passed gradual emancipation laws. This was not the case in Brooklyn or Kings County, NY, a slaveholding capital. Following the American Revolution, slavery actually strengthened in Kings County, unlike neighboring Manhattan, Philadelphia, and Boston. Enslaved labor was essential to the county’s growing agricultural economy and prosperity. Finally, in 1799, New York State enacted a Gradual Emancipation Act. It was the second to last Northe…

Timeline

casionally Christian slaveholders faced the moral dilemma of enslaving their fellow Christians. With a new physical and spiritual freedom, Jea traveled as a preacher across the United States, West Indies, and Europe and shared the Gospel and his life story with audiences. He detailed his experiences in the Life, History, and Unparalleled Suffering of John Jea, the African Preacher (1811). His autobiography offers a rare glimpse into the brutality…

Crisis Decade (1850 – 1860)

…ooklyn’s white schools, arguing that black Brooklynites must show solidarity. But it was his work as a correspondent for the Frederick Douglass’ Paper that gained him national recognition. Under the pseudonym, “Ethiop”, he examined culture, race and politics in columns typified by irreverence, humor, and satire. Wilson urged black Brooklynites to take advantage of the city’s growth and develop independent businesses that reflected their education…

Abolitionist Biographies

…Charles B. Ray, James Pennington, William J. Wilson, Junius Morel, Lewis H. Nelson, James McCune Smith, and Frederick Douglass. The following year, Cousins led a meeting at City Hall in Albany to protest voting discrimination. In 1854, when Reverend James Morris Williams led his congregation from Brooklyn’s AME Church on High Street to a new location on Bridge Street, Cousins marched in the procession. Today, Bridge Street AWME Church is the old…

Civil War & Beyond (1861 – 1867)

…es, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free. Read more… Close But the now iconic document did not provide freedom for all. The Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to the approximately 500,000 enslaved people living in the Border States loyal to the Union – or those living in Union occupied confederacy states. Nevertheless, it was critical in making the destruction of slavery a stated goal of the Civil War. Frederick Douglass, Civil W…

About the Project

…Finance and Operations Emily Potter-Ndiaye, Director of Education Former Staff Andrea DelValle, Director of Education Chela Scott Weber, Director of Library and Archives Irondale Ensemble Project irondale.org Jim Niesen, Artistic Director Maria Knapp, Managing Director Amanda Hinkle, Director of Education Ken Rothchild, Scenic Designer Weeksville Heritage Center weeksvillesociety.org Current Staff Rylee Eterginoso, Public Programs Curator LaShay…