Civil War & Beyond (1861 – 1867)

…For African Americans living in poverty, the Asylum offered a temporary refuge. Parents could send the children to the asylum to receive better care – often an agonizing decision –while they improved their own economic circumstances at home. On February 22, 1860, organizers held a four-day fair at Montague Hall, next to Brooklyn’s City Hall. The fundraiser “brought together all the elite and fashion of this portion of the Anglo-African world, and…

US Department of Education Resources

…for teachers and their students, grades 4-12; an original theater piece that premiered at the Irondale Theater in May of 2012; a new website; a public memorial in downtown Brooklyn to honor the anti-slavery movement in Brooklyn; walking tours of Brooklyn’s abolitionists’ and URR sites; and a series of public programs scheduled for the next five years. Legacy of Slavery in Maryland preserves and promotes experiences that have shaped the lives of…

Abolitionist Brooklyn (1828 – 1849)

…ally parceled and sold off to investors. Brooklyn was a city on the rise. A new set of political activists fled to the emerging city. The abolitionists were a radical minority who had established the American Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia in 1833 with headquarters in Manhattan. It was the first movement in American history in which men and women, black and white, came together with mutual purpose – to end slavery immediately and demand pol…

Crisis Decade (1850 – 1860)

…ical Society. Teacher’s Manual Section 4: Lesson 14 Freeman Murrows, another Williamsburg resident, invented an innovative brush for whitewashing, painting and varnishing. Previously brushes had fixed handles so that the entire brush had to be thrown away once the bristles had worn out. The brush was also adjustable and could be angled to make the work easier. Murrows faced challenges in promoting his invention. He was not permitted to showcase i…