Past Programs

Many CBH Talks were recorded. To view, visit the Center for Brooklyn History Talks YouTube channel at bklynlib.org/CBH-Talks.

Past Events

Trace/s Exhibition Tour

Sat, May 17 2:00pm
Center for Brooklyn History

brooklyn history Center for Brooklyn History exhibitions

Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.

Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…

Trace/s Exhibition Tour

Fri, May 16 3:00pm
Center for Brooklyn History

brooklyn history Center for Brooklyn History exhibitions

Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.

Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…

CBH Talk | “Capitalism and Its Critics” with John Cassidy and Doug Henwood

Thu, May 15 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History

In his new book, Capitalism and Its Critics: A History from the Industrial Revolution to AI, The New Yorker’s John Cassidy traces 200 years of global capitalism through the voices of its most insightful and influential critics. At a time when technology, climate change, inequality,…

Opening the Archives: Exploring the CBH Collection - Building Research

Mon, May 12 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History research

One of the most common research topics at CBH is Brooklyn’s buildings. Join us for a hands-on workshop in the Othmer Library, led by urban data historian Jeremy Lechtzin and CBH archives manager Dee Bowers. This session will introduce you to four key collections used for building…

Trace/s Exhibition Tour

Fri, May 9 3:00pm
Center for Brooklyn History

brooklyn history Center for Brooklyn History exhibitions

Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.

Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…

CBH Talk | Larry Racioppo’s Photographs of Loss and Remembrance in NYC

Thu, May 8 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks book discussion BPL Presents

We all die. Rich and poor, famous and unknown, we all meet the same fate. Almost everyone is mourned, but the method can vary greatly.

Larry Racioppo, "Here Down On Dark Earth"

In Here Down On Dark Earth,…

CBH Talk | Claire Hoffman and Eliza Griswold Discuss “Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson”

Tue, May 6 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks book discussion BPL Presents

On a spring day in 1926, Aimee Semple McPherson wandered into the Pacific Ocean and vanished. The nation’s most famous evangelist, Aimee was known as a sophisticated marketer who had used Hollywood magic and the newest technology to bring her message to the masses. Although Aimee’s Pentecostal…

CBH Talk | The Divine Nine: The Origins and History of Black Greek-Letter Fraternities and Sororities

Mon, May 5 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History conversations


The Divine Nine, formally known as the National Pan-Hellenic Council, are nine historically Black Greek-letter fraternities and sororities that have played a pivotal role in shaping Black American life and culture. The first of these organizations, Alpha Phi Alpha, was founded in…

Trace/s Exhibition Tour

Fri, May 2 3:00pm
Center for Brooklyn History

brooklyn history Center for Brooklyn History exhibitions

Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.

Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…

CBH Talk | Apology and Repair for Slavery: Grenada as a Case Study

Thu, May 1 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History conversations

To The People of Grenada

We, the undersigned, write to apologise for the actions of our ancestors in holding your ancestors in slavery…Slavery was and is a crime against humanity. Its damaging effects continue to the present day. …

Genealogy Workshop: Researching Your Family's Roots at the Center for Brooklyn History

Wed, Apr 30 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

brooklyn history Center for Brooklyn History genealogy

Are you curious about researching your family's history, but don't know where to start? Have you watched television programs about exploring your roots, and wondered what a deep dive into your own family history might reveal? Have you always wanted to find the historical evidence behind the…

Trace/s Exhibition Tour

Sat, Apr 26 2:00pm
Center for Brooklyn History

brooklyn history Center for Brooklyn History exhibitions

Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.

Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…

Trace/s Exhibition Tour

Fri, Apr 25 3:00pm
Center for Brooklyn History

brooklyn history Center for Brooklyn History exhibitions

Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.

Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…

Poets in the Archive

Tue, Apr 22 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History

CBH’s special collections are a treasure trove of inspiration. In celebration of Poetry Month, we invited eight accomplished poets to explore our archives in search of creative sparks. Delving into a range of subjects—from local wildlife and the built environment to Brooklyn’s LGBTQ+…

Trace/s Exhibition Tour

Fri, Apr 18 3:00pm
Center for Brooklyn History

brooklyn history Center for Brooklyn History exhibitions

Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.

Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…

CBH Talk | Jeanne Theoharis and Eddie Glaude Discuss “King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life Struggle Outside the South”

Wed, Apr 16 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History

Just when you thought you knew everything about Martin Luther King Jr., historian Jeanne Theoharis proves you wrong. In a radical reframing of King’s life and work, Theoharis’ new book King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life of Struggle Outside the South redirects our…

Trace/s Exhibition Tour

Fri, Apr 11 3:00pm
Center for Brooklyn History

brooklyn history Center for Brooklyn History exhibitions

Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.

Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…

CBH Talk | Russell Shorto and Andrea Mosterman Discuss “Taking Manhattan”

Tue, Apr 8 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks book discussion BPL Presents

Join us for an evening with master storyteller and historian Russell Shorto as he discusses his latest book, Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events that Created New York and Shaped America. Building on his acclaimed The Island at the Center of the World, Shorto delves into the…

Trace/s Exhibition Tour

Fri, Apr 4 3:00pm
Center for Brooklyn History

brooklyn history Center for Brooklyn History exhibitions

Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.

Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…

CBH Talk | Discussing “Waterworks,” Stanley Greenberg’s Photographs of New York’s Hidden Water System

Tue, Apr 1 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History conversations

This program is offered in partnership with Open House New York. 

 

We take our water for granted; turn on the tap and it’s there. Yet New York City’s faucets are endpoints in a journey through a vast, sophisticated, and visually humbling infrastructure of aqueducts,…

CBH Talk | Elie Mystal and Christina Greer Discuss “Bad Law”

Thu, Mar 27 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks book discussion BPL Presents

In Bad Law, Elie Mystal, author of the New York Times bestseller Allow Me To Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution, brings his legal acumen and signature snark to take down ten of what he considers the most awful laws on the books today. Join us as he explains how laws…

CBH Talk | Noliwe Rooks and Sonya Douglass Discuss “Integrated: How American Schools Failed Black Children”

Tue, Mar 25 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks book discussion BPL Presents

Noliwe Rooks is one of the most admired scholars in education today. In her new book, Integrated: How American Schools Failed Black Children,” she traces four generations of her own family’s educational journey to challenge the idea that integration was a boon for Black children.…

Screening and Discussion of “The Cost of Inheritance”

Mon, Mar 24 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History conversations

Emmy nominee and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Yoruba Richen shares and discusses her one-hour documentary, “The Cost of Inheritance,” which follows the long journey of individuals and communities seeking to make reparations a reality on the personal, local, and national levels.…

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