Exhibitions

Brooklyn Abolitionists Brooklyn Abolitionists This major, long-term exhibit opens on January 15, 2014 and explores the lesser-known heroes of Brooklyn’s anti-slavery movement — ordinary residents, black and white — who shaped their neighborhoods, city and nation with a revolutionary vision of freedom and equality. For opening times and directions please visit brooklynhistory.org Weeksville: Lived Experiences In Pursuit of Freedom…

US Department of Education Resources

…torical Society, Irondale Ensemble Project and Weeksville Heritage Center, this project, the first of its kind, comprises original scholarly research; a series of exhibitions at the three partner sites, a curriculum 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; walki…

Funders

…James, Christine Quinn, Domenic Recchia, Albert Vann and David Yassky. In Pursuit of Freedom is assisted by a grant from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, made possible by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior….

Introduction

…klyn, DUMBO, Fort Greene, Vinegar Hill, Weeksville, and Williamsburg insisted on an immediate end to slavery and demanded legal and political equality for all Americans. Brooklyn’s abolitionists and anti-slavery activists actively shaped the history of both the city and the nation. Click here to read Brooklyn’s abolitionist biographies. Image: Brooklyn (Breukelen). Brooklyn Eagle. 1946. F129.B7 B766 1946 c.2. Brooklyn Historical Society….

Glossary

…o purchase their own freedom or be emancipated by slaveholder. Mutual Aid Arrangements made between people of a community to assist each other. Propaganda A technique used to sway people’s opinions, adopt a certain behavior, or perform a particular action. Secession The act of formally withdrawing from a political federation. Temperance Abstinence from alcohol and the belief that it is wrong to drink. Underground Railroad A network of people and…

About the Project

…s 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 Freedom Project Staff Prithi Kanakamedala, Ph.D., Historian and Curator Kate Fermoile, Project Manager Carol Enseki, Former Project…