A Brooklyn Juneteenth Tour: Downtown, Bed Stuy & the Weeksville Food Festival

Join us to Celebrate the Juneteenth Holiday Brooklyn-Style!
RSVPs open Sunday, May 31st at 8pm. Space is set aside for new members and first and second timers who land on the waiting list. Email me at hankorenstein@gmail.com to request a spot.

This tour is free with a voluntary donation to your leader at the end via cash, venmo or zelle. Please be fit to walk close to 4 miles (split over 2 different walking tours, subway ride in between).

To Bring: Water to drink, hat for the sun, snacks. There will be an additional subway ride from Downtown Brooklyn to Bedford Stuyvesant. There will be abundant food for purchase at the Food Festival - estimated arrival time is 4:00pm (free admission).
https://www.weeksvillesociety.org/event/5th-annual-juneteenth-food-festival/

TOUR OVERVIEW: ABOUT JUNETEENTH
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States which existed for well over half 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.

As we recount the background of the Juneteenth holiday, we'll visit a number of historic sites in Brooklyn, which during part of the 19th century, essentially became sanctuary city in which blacks and whites played leaderships roles in combatting slavery sometimes at risk to their lives and livelihoods.

Despite business interests tied to the South due to the production and processing of textiles and sugar, New York City became the most active city in the country in combatting slavery and in challenging the Fugitive Slave Act. This law, which allowed the recapture of escapees in free states like New York, where slavery was abolished in 1827, led to the establishment of a large underground railroad network. In addition abolitionist Brooklyn ministers especially Henry Ward Beecher and Theodore Cuyler pushed President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

Tour Schedule and Itinerary:
1:00pm: Meet in front of Downtown Brooklyn's City Point Mall, on Albee Square convenient to 11 subway lines + the LIRR. This link has information for for food vendors should you wish to arrive early grab a bite before
https://www.citypointbrooklyn.com/visit
Restrooms available, recommended to use.

Durinfg an approximately 1 hour stroll, we’ll visit several important downtown Brooklyn locations including a historic Underground Railroad house saved from demolition and the 19th century Bridge Street United AME Church which hosted Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, along with a festive celebration following Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.

2:15pm: Short subway ride to the Bedford Stuyvesant Neighborhood. After arriving around 2:30pm, we’ll tour the beautiful and magnificent Stuyvesant Heights Historic District which essentially became “the Harlem of Brooklyn” by the 1930s and has deeper history that includes The United Order of Tents, one of the oldest Black women's fraternal order that was established in the mid-19th century, to provide aid to those escaping slavery via the Underground Railroad.

We'll top off the tour with a visit to the Weeksville neighborhood which includes reminders of a once thriving African American community dating back to the 1830s, including a historic baptist church.

4:00pm (estimated). After an approximately 90 minute guided walk, we'll arrive at the Weeksville Heritage Center for the Festival. As a group we can see the historic and recently restored early 19th century homes (pictured) and take in the festival which lasts until 8pm. Stay as long or as short as as you like.
There will be around 40 food vendors and artisans. tour Nearby A,C, 3,4 subways are within a 6-8 block walk.

About The Weeksville Heritage Center and the Food Festival
Friday, June 19th, 12 Noon - 8pm
The Weeksville Heritage Center is a historic site dedicated to the preservation of Weeksville, one of America's first free black communities during the 19th century. The town of Weeksville was unique in that it reported the highest number of black owned properties and businesses. It also had the second “colored” school in Brooklyn, formed in the 1840s. During the Draft Riots during the American Civil War, Weeksville became a safe haven for African Americans fleeing Manhattan.

After the houses were rediscovered in 1968, the community quickly worked to get the houses designated as landmarks by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Over the course of several decades, the houses were fully restored and now serve as a museum, illustrating to the community and its visitors its unique, hidden history.

Read more about it on the website:
https://www.weeksvillesociety.org/

About the Food Festival
Black food and culture with 40+ food vendors and artisans.
Food has been a part of Juneteenth since its first observance in 1866, commemorating June 19, 1865 — when enslaved Texans received news of their freedom, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
Details here:
https://www.weeksvillesociety.org/event/5th-annual-juneteenth-food-festival/

Cheers from Hank
646-596-3005
hankorenstein@gmail.com