Window to the past
Weeksville opens years-in-the-making exhibit
BY SUSAN DE VRIES
It has been years in the
making, and as weekend tours
of Weeksville’s historic Hunterfl
y houses resume, visitors
will be able to get a glimpse of
the completed “In Pursuit of
Freedom” exhibit.
Set inside the only reproduction
house amidst the row
of original 19th century dwellings
that are part of the educational
complex, the exhibition
uses images, text and sound
to draw visitors into the social
history of the free Black
community founded by James
Weeks in the 1830s. Brooklyn
Paper’s sister publication
Brownstoner got a sneak peak
of the IPOF exhibit in 2021, but
the continuing pandemic further
delayed the opening.
The origins of the exhibit go
back to a public history collaboration
between Weeksville,
the then Brooklyn Historical
Society and now Center for
Brooklyn History and the Irondale
COURIER L 34 IFE, FEB. 18–24, 2022
Ensemble Project in the
early 2000s. The collaboration
launched an education website
about the anti-slavery movement
in Brooklyn, an original
Irondale Enemble Project production
“Color Between the
Lines’ premiered in 2012 and
the “In Pursuit of Freedom:
Brooklyn Abolitionists” exhibit
opened at BHS in 2014.
In 2018, Weeksville’s pop-up
exhibit “In Pursuit of Freedom
Now” explored Black activism
in the borough and beyond
while the opening of the permanent
exhibition was delayed.
That now completed permanent
exhibition, designed by
Matter Practices with graphics
by Pure+Applied, takes up
the fi rst fl oor of a wood frame
house constructed in 1993 to
replace one destroyed in a fi re.
Maps are set into the wood
fl oor to give a sense of context,
wood-framed screens displaying
images and interactive features
line the walls and warm
wood exhibit panels divide the
space. A timeline of major moments
in the fi ght for freedom
is paired with excerpts from
letters, speeches and publications,
and the voices of former
residents of the area can be
cued up via wall-mounted oral
history stations.
“IPOF represents an extremely
important part of Black
Brooklyn’s history and Brooklyn’s
history more broadly,”
Raymond Codrington, president
and chief executive offi cer
of Weeksville Heritage Center
told Brownstoner. “Weeksville
has been at the center of activism,
racial justice and neighborhood
change since its inception.
It is truly gratifying to see
these issues in dialogue with
each other in the exhibit in
such a compelling way.”
While full access to the exhibit
is still being rolled out, for
now visitors on reserved tours
will be able to see it.
New collaborative programming
is also being launched to
celebrate the opening of the exhibition.
The ‘Something Like
Freedom’ series will bring together
artists, activists, community
members and others
to explore the past and future
meanings of abolition and liberation.
The fi rst program in the
series, a reading group in partnership
with Wendy’s Subway,
takes place on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
Tour reservations and information
about the programming
planned to complement
the exhibit can be found via
the Weeskville website.
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
Brooklyn’s Irish population
will dawn their fi nest
kilts and fi re-up their fi ddles
to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day
with a pair of parades in the
borough next month — marking
a long-awaited return to
the beloved holiday tradition,
which was canceled the past
two years due to COVID-19.
Bay Ridge
In Bay Ridge, southern
Brooklynites will gather on
March 27 for the 27th annual
rendition of the parade, which
the organizers promise will be
the most spectacular celebration
yet.
“Back and BETTER than
EVER!” the group wrote on social
media. “See you on Third
Avenue!”
The festivities will begin
with a 9:30 am church service
at St. Patrick Roman Catholic
Church, located at 9511 Fourth
Ave., before revelers will head
over to the corner of Third and
Marine avenues for the 1 pm
parade.
After two years of health-related
cancellations, attendance
will likely (COVID-allowing)
be among the highest of any
previous Bay Ridge parade,
which was initially the “brainchild”
of Gene Reilly, who had
owned Lief Erickson Pub on
Fifth Avenue, according to the
organizers.
“He wanted to share the
Celtic culture and love of Irish
Heritage. He believed there
was a need and desire for this,”
the organization wrote on their
website. “Gene had realized the
parade would also help stimulate
business and interest in
the Bay Ridge community.”
That prescient idea has
proven true each year since
1993, as Irish dancers, marching
bands, and hundreds of
proud Irish descendants Shamrock
and-roll through the
neighborhood with tons of fanfare
— and frequent the neighborhood’s
many businesses,
which will come as a particular
relief this year as eateries
have struggled amid the pandemic.
The Bay Ridge St. Patrick’s
Day Parade (at the corner of
Third and Marine avenues in
Bay Ridge). March 27. 1 pm.
Free. For more information
and a list of this year’s parade
honorees, visit www.brparade.
com.
Park Slope
On March 20, Northern
Brooklynites will also see the
return of their beloved St. Patrick’s
Day parade, which has
become one of the premier-jamborees
in the area each year!
The 45th annual Park
Slope event will kick off with
a mass at the Holy Name of
Jesus Church at 245 Prospect
Park West, beginning at 10:30
am. Revelers will then head
to Bartel-Pritchard Square on
the southwestern tip of Prospect
Park, where the parade
will begin at 12:30 pm.
Like years past, the Park
Slope event will feature several
bands and dance troupes,
along with activities for kids
— like face painting and artsand
crafts. Organizers also
promise to show off old memorabilia
reminiscent of the
Motherland, such as antique
cars from Ireland.
The newest installment
of the parade comes 47 years
after Irish immigrant John
Carroll, a longtime community
advocate, helped found
the parade to bring attention
to various problems plaguing
the Irish community in 1975.
Carroll’s grandson, Robert
Carroll, now represents Park
Slope in the state Assembly.
The Brooklyn St. Patrick’s
Day Parade (Bartel-Pritchard
Square in Park Slope). March
20. 12:30 pm. Free.
Bagpipers march in the Park Slope St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
File photo by Elizabeth Graham
Bklyn St. Pat’s Day parades to return
BROOKLYN
Got a green light!
A look inside the new exhibit, “In Pursuit of Freedom,” at the Weeksville
Heritage Center. Photo by Susan De Vries
/www.brparade
/www.brparade