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
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
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…
Environmental Injustice: Race, Class, and Toxic Inequality | The Way Forward
The final program in this three-part series on the intersection of racial inequality and the environment looks ahead. Join us in imagining a future free from the race and class based divides that determine who is — and isn’t — protected from toxins, pollutants, flooding, and the…
Just Conversations | The Welcome Myth: Immigration and America’s Contradictions
About Just ConversationsJust Conversations is a series co-presented by the Center for Brooklyn History and Brooklyn Org that brings into dialogue issues facing our borough, city, and society and gives voice to the change makers who move us towards a more equitable future.Special thanks to…
Trace/s Exhibition Tour
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 | Rules and Rutabagas: A Conversation about the Park Slope Food Coop with Joe Holtz, Sun Yu, and Alexandra Schwartz
In the early 1970s, a remarkable experiment in collective action took root in Park Slope: the Park Slope Food Coop (PSFC). Founded in 1973 as a members-only, collectively-run buying club, the Coop has grown over 52 years into the largest single store food cooperative in the United…
Opening the Archives: Finding LGBTQ+ History in the CBH Collections
When author Hugh Ryan researched his 2019 book When Brooklyn Was Queer, he delved deep into the archives at the Center for Brooklyn History. Queer history is rarely neatly labeled in finding aids or research guides. And so Hugh brought a queer lens to an array of seemingly unrelated…
Environmental Injustice: Race, Class, and Toxic Inequality | The Present Crisis
Join us for Part 2 of a three-part series exploring the intersection of racial inequality and the environment. This time we explore the situation today. Leaders from across the country share solutions to environmental crises within their communities and discuss a new urgent challenge…
Trace/s Exhibition Tour
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…
Children of the Movement: Growing up with Parents in the Black Panther Party
This program is offered in partnership with The Guardian.
In March, The Guardian published a landmark article and produced a short film spotlighting the self-described “Panther cubs”—offspring of members of the Black Panther Party. This project, two…
CBH Talk | Deborah Archer and James Forman Discuss “Dividing Lines”
In her new book, Dividing Lines: How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality, acclaimed scholar and ACLU President Deborah Archer shows how seemingly innocuous transit planning functions – the development of roads, sidewalks, dividers, and other infrastructures –…
Trace/s Exhibition Tour
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…
Environmental Injustice: Race, Class, and Toxic Inequality | The Path to Today
Join us for the first event in a three-part series exploring the intersection of racial inequality and the environment. Part 1 delves into the systemic roots of environmental racism and confronts a critical question: Why are communities of color and low-wealth populations…
Trace/s Exhibition Tour
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
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 | Five Years After George Floyd: The Fight Today
On May 25, 2020, the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin stunned the nation and ignited a global uprising.
As we mark the fifth anniversary of that tragic day, CBH brings together three leading voices to examine the protests, their…
CBH Talk | Voices from the Past: Tracing Black Lineage and the Power of Genealogy
Being the narrators and experts of our own pasts comes with unique challenges for Black Americans. What we know about our families matters—and everyone deserves the ability to honor their ancestors’ stories.
CBH’s new exhibition, Trace/s, explores the crucial…
Trace/s Exhibition Tour
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
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
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
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
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
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”
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
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…
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