Center for Brooklyn History — Attraction in New York

The Brooklyn Historical Society's "In Pursuit of Freedom" exhibit takes a retrospective and introspective look at black lives starting from the end of the American Revolution in 1783, through the Civil War in 1861 and Reconstruction era. The exhibit plots how Brooklyn transformed from a small agricultural town, to a mecca for business, which heavily relied on the labor of enslaved black people, while simultaneously eradicating their basic human rights, and preventing blacks from obtaining a proper education, housing, employment, and voting privileges. The theme of the exhibit focuses on the Brooklyn abolitionist movement, and centers around the lives of the first influential yet less prominent fore runners of said movement which included but were not limited to William J Wilson, Frederick Douglass, Maritcha Lyons and William and Willis Hodges, who demanded both political and legal equality for all African Americans, as well as cultural diversity. Part of the exhibit explores how one group of people were systematically "kept down" because they did not own property, and therefore could not vote, or even avoid being drafted for a war in a country that did not even consider them fully human. Yet several awe inspiring people broke barriers, and refused to be classified by these terms, laying the ground work for future...

If your are interested to know about Brooklyns history ...this is the place to go and look, read and study. It was founded in 1863, it is a museum, a historical library, and educational center whose main purpose is preserving and encouraging the study of Brooklyn's 400-year history. The society's home a Romanesque Revival building, located at Pierrepont and Clinton Streets in Brooklyn Heights, is a National Historic Landmark and part of Brooklyn Heights Historic District. "In the 1970s and 1980s, the institution reestablished itself as a museum and education center. The institution, which changed its name to Brooklyn Historical Society in 1985, broke new ground by embracing social history practices and exploring the diversity of Brooklyn’s history and people. It established a pioneering oral history program, reaching out to as-yet unchronicled Brooklyn communities and capturing their experiences. The Society also began featuring exhibits such as Black Churches in Brooklyn and AIDS/Brooklyn, the first exhibit to cover this topic at a history museum in the United States." Subway 2,3,4,5 to Borough Hall A,C,F to Jay Street R to...

This was a nice, unexpected, find while meandering around Brooklyn.

The space is a bit hidden but if you happen to glance and see the signs, definitely pop in for a walk through

The museum is donation based (aka free), so that's always a plus. It appears to be an old home rehabilitated as a exhibition area. Each floor has a specific focus, there are four floors in all but the last level is basically administration offices.

The exhibitions were nice enough, but not very interactive or expansive. The main idea is to just walk around and read the blurbs on different artifacts. The main draw was the library on the second floor but unfortunately it has limited hours and it was closed when we went (major bummer!)

Overall, It's worth a gander if you happen upon it, but I wouldn't go out of the way to get here. If I find myself in the area again, I'll try to get in and peer through the library, again only...