Weeksville, Brooklyn

Weeksville was a village founded by African American freedmen in what is now the New York City borough of Brooklyn, New York, United States, in the area of what is the present-day neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant. It was named after James Weeks, an African American freedman who purchased land there in 1838. [Ramirez, Anthony. [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/05/nyregion/05weeksville.html?_r=1&oref=slogin "Haven for Blacks in Civil War Riots Now Safeguards History"] , "The New York Times", June 5, 2005. Accessed November 17, 2007.] The land was purchased from another African American freedman, Henry C. Thompson.

The village was established by a group of African American land investors and political activists. By the 1850s, it had more than 500 residents from all over the East Coast (as well as two people born in Africa). Almost 40 percent of them were southern-born. Almost one-third of the men over 21 owned land. It had a school, two churches, and in the 1860s became the national headquarters of the African Civilization Society and the Howard Orphan Asylum.

In 2005, the Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History was among 406 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. [Roberts, Sam. [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/06/nyregion/06donate.html?ex=1278302400&en=93a1beabd4ede5b8&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss "City Groups Get Bloomberg Gift of $20 Million"] , "The New York Times", July 6, 2005. Accessed November 17, 2005.] [ [http://carnegie.org/sub/news/anon2005.html "CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK ANNOUNCES TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS IN NEW YORK CITY GRANTS"] , Carnegie Corporation of New York press release, dated July 5, 2005. Accessed November 17, 2007.]

References

External links

* [http://www.weeksvillesociety.org Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History]
* [http://nyckidsarts.org/orgs/one?org_id=373 Weeksville Heritage Center]
* [http://www.africantic.com/tour1.htm Brooklyn Heritage Tour]