Saturday, May 2, 2015

Uncovering the Treasures in Brooklyn


PRESS RELEASE                 For Immediate Release

Contact: Akosua Albritton

347 881 6509



Uncovering the Treasures in Brooklyn


New York, NY - May 1, 2015 - The Omamiwinini called parts of it “Canarsie” and

“Makeepaca”.  The Dutch called parts of it “Boswyck” and “Nieuw Utrecht” in Nieuw

Netherlands.  Today, it’s known as Brooklyn, a place where African and African-Americans have thrived since the 1600s.



Yes, African-Americans have thrived in Brooklyn.  In fact, an article, in the July 14, 1895

New York Times reads, ”…As soon as negro men amass a comfortable fortune, they

move from this city across the East River because they can find in Brooklyn more economical and satisfactory investment…”  

Brooklyn Treasures Uncovered© aims to satisfy the curious about Black Brooklyn.  Brooklyn Treasures Uncovered© reveals the contributions that Africans and African-Americans have made to the development of Brooklyn, USA.  These contributions include founding towns, operating African Free Schools, and running for the US President’s office.



Brooklyn Treasures Uncovered© is a program consisting of 17 talks, five neighborhood walks, and visits to places of interest throughout the borough.  It displays the historic residential patterns of African-Americans in Brooklyn.  It has received excellent reviews by 11 evaluators and at Brooklyn Christian Center.

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Akosua Albritton, a trained urban planner, points to designing the first travel brochure for central Brooklyn, Bedford-Stuyvesant? Yes!, The Guide to the Places and Events in and around our Bustling Community, in 1998, as the starting point for her academic dig into this borough.  “Bedford-Stuyvesant has murals, an outdoor pool, two amphitheaters, and tennis courts as well as being surrounded by Fort Greene, Williamsburg, and Crown Heights that have their own cultural capital”, explains Ms. Albritton.  The publishing of the brochure qualified Ms. Albritton to be selected one of four adjunct professors to draft a syllabus and itinerary for a new summer seminar called History of Blacks in Brooklyn for The College of New Rochelle in 2000.  In 2012, she spun off a Facebook page, also called Brooklyn Treasures Uncovered© and 17 presentation topics.

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Pig Town in Flatbush
Courtesy of the Brooklyn Public Library


Colored School no.1, 51 Edward Street
Courtesy of New York Public Library












Courtney Washington in his Boutique
Courtesy of  Jamaica-Gleaner.com




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