TALK: Brooklynites: The Remarkable Story of the Free Black Communities that Shaped a Borough featuring Prithi Kanakamedala, Manisha Sinha (moderator)

Monday, April 7, 6:30-7:30pm

The Robert H. Smith Auditorium at The New York Historical

170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024

 

GC Students — get your FREE tickets. Email ps2@gc.cuny.edu for discount code

 

Join historians Prithi Kanakamedala (Bronx Community College and The Graduate Center CUNY) and Manisha Sinha (Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut) as they reveal the stories of the Black Brooklynites who left an indelible mark on New York City’s most populous borough.

 

Once one of the largest cities in the country, Brooklyn was also home to a prosperous free Black community who sought to grow their city as an anti-slavery sanctuary. In neighborhoods like DUMBO, Fort Greene, and Williamsburg, Black Brooklynites led an early chapter in New York City’s history in the fight for social justice, even as they risked their safety for the sake of a fairer, more just city.

 

Prithi Kanakamedala teaches at the CUNY Graduate Center and is a Professor of History at Bronx Community College CUNY. A public historian, she is also the author of Brooklynites: the Remarkable Story of the Free Black Communities that Shaped a Borough. Manisha Sinha (moderator) is the Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut and the 2024 President of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic.

 

https://www.nyhistory.org/programs/brooklynites-the-remarkable-story-of-the-free-black-communities?date=2025-04-07