This season will focus on free Black communities and free Black societies during the antebellum period of the 19th century in New York, specifically New York City. They include one in each of what would become the five boroughs of New York City: Seneca Village in Manhattan; Weeksville in Brooklyn; Newtown in Queens, Sandy Ground in Staten Island; and the community surrounding the Centerville AME Church near Westchester, which was part of the present day borough of the Bronx. This deep dive into this time period will also include an analysis of free Blacks and people of African descent in Manhattan who, rather than living exclusively or predominantly Black neighborhoods, lived in enclaves. Finally, this season will also focus on the New York City Drraft Riots and Massacre of 1863. It is considered to be one of the worst insurrections in US History.

SE04 INTRODUCTION

A look back in history at a time of great promise and great disappointment for Black Americans who dreamed of and struggled for the promise of community and full citizenship.

History

Society & Culture

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln's government passed a new conscription law requiring certain male citizens to report for military duty if chosen through a lottery. Wealthy men could buy their way out. Black men were not considered citizens and were exempt from the draft. When New York City conducted it's first draft lottery on July 11, 1863, the anger of aggrieved poor white residents had boiled over. By July 13th, a mob of thousands of primarily Irish Catholic rioters directed their anger first, toward military and government buildings before turning on anyone in their way, police and soldiers included. Finally, the mobs turned their sights onto Black men and women, their homes and businesses. The violence continued for three days until about 4,000 federal troops arrived in New York City fresh from the Battle of Gettysburg to quell the ravenous hordes. Estimates of the death toll range from 74 to 1,200. Some experts estimate that dozens of Blacks were killed. 11 Black men are on record as being lynched. Several thousand Black residents were made homeless. Millions of dollars worth of property were destroyed, including an orphanage for African American children. The 1863 New York Draft Riots and Massacre holds the distinction as one of the worst insurrections in U.S. History aside from the Civil War, and certainly the worst riot in New York’s history. Guests in this episode include, Author, Historian and Northwestern University Professor, Leslie Harris. 

SE04 EP08 The 1863 New York Draft Riots and Massacre

By 1840 there were nearly 190 African Americans out of more than 4,000 residents in the town of Westchester, located in what is today part of the East Bronx. In 1849, several Black men formed the first Black church in the Bronx, known as the Bethel A.M.E. Church, and the only African burial ground in the borough. The Black community surrounding the church was made up of mostly laborers, farmers, skilled craftspeople and service professionals. Not only did the community of Westchester offer African Americans a bit more safety than Manhattan, but it also offered abolitionists more secluded areas to organize. Once such abolitionist is David Ruggles, one of the most prominent anti-slavery activists and abolitionists of the 19th century. Ruggles also had a presence in Westchester. He was associates with one of its residents named Uriah Copeland who was a founding trustee of theBethel A.M.E. church. Guests in this episode include Author, historian and Professor, Dr. Prathibha Kanakamedala as well as librarian and archivist at The Bronx County Historical Society, Dr. Steven Payne. 

SE 04 EP 07 WESTCHESTER (THE BRONX)

WEEKSVILLE
The predominantly African American settlement of Weeksville was a beacon of hope at a time in pre-Civil War New York when Blacks had suffered major legislative and legal setbacks, including discriminatory voting laws that stripped most people of African descent of the right to vote.  Weeksville was founded in the early 19th century by free African Americans. It provided African Americans and people of African descent, a place to live where they could enjoy community, relative freedom and safety, economic opportunity, a place to worship, where children could learn - and unlike many other places at the time - a place where people of African descent could dare to pursue lofty ideals of prosperity and happiness.Weeksville attracted people from both the North, South and even the Carribean. Guests include: Allen Hillery, a data scientist and lecturer at the The Macaulay Research Assistant Program at The City College of New York; Scott Ruff, Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at Pratt Institute; and Jeffrey Hogrefe, Associate Professor of Architecture, Humanities and Media Studies as well as Coordinator of the Architecture Writing Program. 




SE04 EP06 WEEKSVILLE (BROOKLYN)

Newtown was settled by free African Americans in 1828, after New York state abolished slavery in 1827. It was nearly forgotten to history until, in 2011, a construction crew digging on a site in the present-day Elmhurst community of Queens, New York happened upon an iron coffin that contained the well-preserved remains of a Black woman. Forensic evidence and research proved the woman was the daughter of a prominent Black couple in the free African American community of Newtown in the 19th century. The re-discovery revealed the existence of many more unmarked graves as part of a larger burial site that sparked a major effort to save it. Guests in this episode include, author, historian and Professor, Dr. Prathibha Kanakamedala. She is an Associate Professor of History at Bronx Community College CUNY, a faculty member in the M.A. in Liberal Studies Program, and the inaugural faculty co-ordinator of the Public Scholarship Practice Space housed at the Center for the Humanities at CUNY Graduate Center. Her research looks at community-building, race, and citizenship in Brooklyn and New York’s 19th-century free Black communities.

SE04 EP05 NEWTOWN (QUEENS)

Sandy Ground was settled in 1833 by African-American oystermen fleeing the restrictive industry laws of Maryland. It boasts as the “oldest continuously inhabited free Black settlement in the United States.” Located on the southwestern shore of Staten Island near plentiful oyster beds, Sandy Ground was a once-bustling community supported by farming initially and oystering, beginning in the 1840s. Sandy Ground is also believed to have been a stop along the Underground Railroad.

SE04 INTRODUCTION

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