We had a fantastic, educational and reflective day at the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brownsville today! The center is a multidimensional museum dedicated to preserving the history of the 19th century African–American community of Weeksville, one of America’s first free black communities.
EKC Sorors, family and friends participated in a guided tour of the exhibit, Black Radical Brooklyn, a walkable month-long exhibition of four community-based art commissions by African American artists Xenobia Bailey, Simone Leigh, Otabenga Jones & Associates and Bradford Young.
The highlights of our visit? Xenobia Bailey and Simone Leigh were at the Heritage Center on the day we visited, so we got an opportunity to speak with them about their work. We also toured one of Weeksville Heritage Center’s historic Hunterfly Road homes, re-imagined as the 21st -century apartment-studio of two struggling immigrant designers, one African-Cuban, the other African-British.
The Weeksville Heritage Center is proof that determination and the will to succeed are much stronger forces than financial resources. Schedule a visit and learn about the rich history of this hidden gem right here in Brooklyn!