A Juneteenth Holiday History Tour From Manhattan to Brooklyn

Join us on Monday, June 19th the observed holiday (City, State and Federal) for Juneteenth.

RSVPs ooen on Wednesday, June 4th at 9:00pm. This tour is free with an optional donation to your guide. Space is set aside for new group members and those landing on the waiting list who have yet to attend more than one events. If this applies to you, please email me at hankorenstein@gmail.com to request a spot.

Guest (+1 policy): You may sign up with a +1. No repeats please if you have attended a similar tour previously.

To Bring: Snacks, water to drink, sun protection, additional subway ride. This is a 3 hour + experience that entails about 4 miles of walking.
Note that our indoor meeting place is a National Monument with free admission and you will pass through metal detectors. Address is 290 Broadway.

ABOUT JUNETEENTH
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States which existed for well over hald of this country's history going back to the 1600s. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th of that year that Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free, two years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. On June 17, 2021 President Biden signed into law a bill making June 19th a federal holiday. In 2022 NYC Mayor Adams declared that Juneteenth will be a paid city holiday.

OVERVIEW
Neighborhoods briefly visited: Five Points Chinatown), Tribeca, Civic Center, Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights.
As we recount the background of the Juneteenth holiday, we'll visit a number of historic sites in Brooklyn and Manhattan. While Manhattan became a leading force in the movement against slavery, Brooklyn, during part of the 19th century, essentially became sanctuary city in which blacks and whites played leaderships roles in combatting slavery sometimes at risk risk to their lives and livelihoods.

NYC's history with regarding to slavey is quite complex: On one hand it became the most active city in the country with respect combatting slavery and in challenging the Fugitive Slave Act allowing recapturing escapees in free states like New York. On the other hand, NYC business interests were profiting from slavery due to their relationships with textiles and sugar that were produced in the south and shipped north for processing and manufacturing. We'll cover this fascinating history as we visit other sites including:

4:00pm: Where We Start - 290 Broadway Entrance - Indoor Museum. We will see the outdoor portion when we start our walk around 4:40pm.
The African Burial Ground National Monument (pictured above), the oldest and largest known excavated burial ground in North America for both free and enslaved Africans. Arrive earlier if you like if you would like to spend more time: https://www.nps.gov/afbg/index.htm
There are restrooms which you should definitely use before we start

After about a 30-40 minute self-guided visit, we'll continue on to key anti-slavery sites in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, including the site of the first church established by people of African descent. We'll also visit locations related to 18th century slave rebellions and the site of one the largest 18th century slave markets in the northeast United States,

On to Brooklyn
We'll take a short subway ride to Downtown Brooklyn we'll make a stop at an historic Underground Railroad house that was recently saved from demolition. Still standing is the the historic Bridge Street Church building, which was used by the African Wesleyen Methodist Church congregation starting in 1854 until 1948, and played an important and active role in the anti-slavery movement. Many escaping enslaved people were housed in the basement of this building as they made their way northward to freedom.

We'll traverse Downtown Brooklyn to Brooklyn Heights and end our tour at the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims which played a prominent role in the Underground Railroad and anti-slavery movement. The head minister, Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, according to Abraham Lincoln, who visited this church, was "the most influential man in America."

The endpoint of the tour is convenient to the A, 2,3,4,5, and R subways. Potential afterparty at a local establishment in nearby DUMBO or Brooklyn Heights.

Your organizer and guide,

Hank
646-596-3005