Preserving Black History in Brooklyn

Black historical sites are rapidly disappearing across Brooklyn despite efforts by local activists and preservationists. The destruction of these tangible sites of memory--largely as a result of redevelopment and gentrification--impacts the way we remember, understand, and tell history. The recent demolition of the Slave Theater in Bedford-Stuyvesant reflects this trend in the borough, as well as a larger practice of marginalizing and ignoring minority histories within the historical record. Of the 185 Brooklyn-based sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places only four, or 2 percent, relate to Black history.

The Slave Theater (also called Slave No. 1) opened on Fulton Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant in 1984. The building, formerly a vaudeville and movie house, was owned by Judge John L. Phillips Jr., an African American Civil Court judge and 10th-degree black belt. While some residents were offended by the name, Phillips argued it served as a reminder of the legacy of slavery in America. He commissioned murals depicting Black civil rights leaders, activists, and politicians, including Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Marcus Garvey, and Kwame Nkrumah, on the auditorium walls. The photographs featured here, taken by Japanese photographer Hiroki Kobayashi a decade after the theater closed, offer a rare glimpse inside the space. 

The theater became a center for civil rights activity in the ‘80s during a period of heightened racial tension and violence in New York City. Rev. Al Sharpton held weekly rallies and press conferences at the Slave Theater after the racially motivated killings of Michael Griffith (1963-1986) and Yusef K. Hawkins (1973-1989). Sharpton asserted that these activities, along with several high profile marches through Brooklyn, “galvanized the city and shifted the center of New York’s civil rights movement to Brooklyn from Harlem.” In the ‘90s, the theater hosted weekly Wednesday evening lectures and events featuring notable Black writers, scholars, and activists, such as Cornel West, John Henrik Clarke, and Khalid Abdullah Tariq al-Mansour. 

Following the theater’s closure in 1998, a lengthy legal battle ensued over the ownership of Phillips’ many properties. Some believe it all started when Phillips announced his run for Brooklyn District Attorney in 2001 against long-standing incumbent Charles Hynes. That same year, Hynes declared Phillips mentally incompetent. Phillips’ assets were placed in state receivership and he was sent to an assisted-living facility. After his death in 2008, Phillips’ properties were slowly sold off. Community members and local activists were unable to save the theater, which was eventually sold (multiple times) and later demolished around 2016. A London-based co-living firm called The Collective plans to build a combination hotel-apartments-restaurant-community space on the site. 

Not all preservation battles end in loss, though. This month, after a 16-year struggle by community activists, the Landmarks Preservation Commission finally voted to landmark 227 Duffield Street, the home of abolitionists Thomas and Harriet Truesdell and likely stop on the Underground Railroad.

Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images, or the digital collections portal at Brooklyn Public Library. We look forward to inviting you to CBH in the future to research in our entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections. In the meantime, please visit our resources page, available here or access the resources of the former Brooklyn Collection here. Our reference staff are still available to help with your research! You can reach us at cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.