From Tulsa And Beyond: A Nation Of Black Wall Streets – Page 6 – Black Enterprise

History Juneteenth 2023

From Tulsa And Beyond: A Nation Of Black Wall Streets

Black Wall Street
Mural Commemorating 100th Anniversary of Black Wall Street Massacre in 1921, Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Weeksville in Brooklyn, New York

weeksville, Brooklyn
BROOKLYN, NY – SEPTEMBER 8: The historic houses and gardens of the Weeksville Heritage Center in the heart of Brooklyn were a fitting backdrop for the Pyer Moss Spring Summer fashion show. (Photo by Maria Valentino/MCV Photo For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

 

In the 1800s, Weeksville played a significant role in our country’s history as one of the first Black communities in New York. This cohesive section of Crown Heights was named after James Weeks, a freedman who purchased a large portion of land. Property ownership was instrumental in creating a thriving neighborhood and community with over 500 residents, including doctors, teachers, and business people.  By 1850, Weeksville had become the second largest community for free men and women in pre-Civil War America.

During the 1930s and 50s, the identity of Weeksville would start to fade as a wave of European immigrants and Brooklyn’s expanding city would lead to the village’s buried past.

Learn more about the Weeksville’s important history at the Weeksville Heritage Center.


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