nysister
Well-Known Member
As a Brooklynite my Mom used to take me here quite a bit as a kid. Let's help save it and keep Brooklyn's pre-Civil war Black History in tack.
Weeksville, a Haven for Free African-Americans Before the Civil War, Is Fighting for Survival https://nyti.ms/2PYSrJx
Weeksville, a Haven for Free African-Americans Before the Civil War, Is Fighting for Survival
A budget shortfall threatens Weeksville Heritage Center and the historic remains of a community founded in Brooklyn after slavery was abolished in New York State.
Image
The Hunterfly Road Houses, landmarked buildings from the mid-19th century, housed newly emancipated African-Americans in Brooklyn.CreditDevin Yalkin for The New York Times
By Corina Knoll and Morgan Jerkins
Weeksville could have vanished altogether once before.
The remains of the village of free African-Americans who had carved out a settlement after New York abolished slavery were crumbling in the 1960s. Preservationists crusaded, and the refuge nestled in the heart of Brooklyn was saved.
Nearly six decades later, the future of the Weeksville Heritage Center is again in question as a budget shortfall threatens to force it to close. Without an injection of funds by the end of next month, officials said, its efforts to educate visitors and preserve the haven that was home to hundreds of African-Americans before the Civil War are in jeopardy.
Weeksville, a Haven for Free African-Americans Before the Civil War, Is Fighting for Survival https://nyti.ms/2PYSrJx
Weeksville, a Haven for Free African-Americans Before the Civil War, Is Fighting for Survival
A budget shortfall threatens Weeksville Heritage Center and the historic remains of a community founded in Brooklyn after slavery was abolished in New York State.
Image
The Hunterfly Road Houses, landmarked buildings from the mid-19th century, housed newly emancipated African-Americans in Brooklyn.CreditDevin Yalkin for The New York Times
By Corina Knoll and Morgan Jerkins
- May 10, 2019
Weeksville could have vanished altogether once before.
The remains of the village of free African-Americans who had carved out a settlement after New York abolished slavery were crumbling in the 1960s. Preservationists crusaded, and the refuge nestled in the heart of Brooklyn was saved.
Nearly six decades later, the future of the Weeksville Heritage Center is again in question as a budget shortfall threatens to force it to close. Without an injection of funds by the end of next month, officials said, its efforts to educate visitors and preserve the haven that was home to hundreds of African-Americans before the Civil War are in jeopardy.