Many CBH Talks were recorded. To view, visit the Center for Brooklyn History Talks YouTube channel at bklynlib.org/CBH-Talks.
Past Events
CBH Talk | Heather Ann Thompson on the Legacy of Bernie Goetz
In 1984, a white New Yorker named Bernie Goetz shot four Black teenagers on a subway train, igniting one of the most explosive public debates in modern New York history. Hailed by some as a hero and condemned by others as a vigilante, Goetz became a flashpoint for national anxieties about crime…
CBH Talk | Chris Hayes Discusses “The Siren’s Call” with Alondra Nelson
Journalist, author, and Emmy Award–winning MSNBC host Chris Hayes joins sociologist and Institute for Advanced Study scholar Alondra Nelson for a timely conversation about Hayes’s latest book, The Sirens’ Call, an urgent examination of how the attention economy has reshaped our inner lives, our…
CBH Talk | How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance
Global superstar Bad Bunny—born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio—has become far more than a chart-topping artist. For millions, he is a voice of pride, defiance, and cultural power, shaped by a Puerto Rico marked by blackouts, hurricanes, political corruption, and the enduring realities of U.S.…
Freedom and Its Futures: Conversations on the Meaning of Freedom Today
Join the third in a series of small group discussion about freedom and responsibility, in connection with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We'll be using a short excerpt from Zadie Smith's essay "Joy" as the anchor.
New Yorkers live amid…
CBH Talk | From the Inside Out: How Writing and Art Support Justice-Affected Lives
For people impacted by policing and incarceration, reclaiming one’s humanity is often bound up with the ability to tell one’s own story. Arts and literacy programs inside prisons and during reentry, offer powerful tools for recovery from the harms of state punishment and the stigma of…
Exhibition Opening Day: The Battle of Brooklyn: Fought and Remembered
In August of 1776, the first and largest battle of the American Revolution took place in what is now Brooklyn, NY. The Battle of Brooklyn: Fought and Remembered uses primary source material from the Center for Brooklyn History's collection to relay the story of this turning point in American…
CBH Talk | Book Launch of “Freedom Lost, Freedom Won”: Eugene Robinson and Darren Walker in Conversation
CBH is honored to host the launch of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eugene Robinson’s latest book, Freedom Lost, Freedom Won, a deeply personal and sweeping work of history, memory, and moral reckoning. Robinson will be led in conversation by Darren Walker.
Freedom Lost, Freedom Won…
New York City History Day Virtual Office Hour
Virtual drop-in office hour to talk to the New York City History Day Coordinator about your History Day project. Get one-on-one help with registration, brainstorming, research, and more! Open to all students and teachers. Zoom link will be sent on the day of the office hour to those who've…
New York City History Day Virtual Office Hour
Virtual drop-in office hour to talk to the New York City History Day Coordinator about your History Day project. Get one-on-one help with registration, brainstorming, research, and more! Open to all students and teachers. Zoom link will be sent on the day of the office hour to those who've…
CBH Talk | Photographer Jamel Shabazz on Prospect Park: A Brooklyn Oasis
Renowned photographer Jamel Shabazz returns to the borough that has shaped his life and art with his most recent book, Prospect Park: Photographs of a Brooklyn Oasis, 1980 to 2025. This expansive, meditative volume captures the heart and soul of Brooklyn through one of its most beloved communal…
CBH Talk | Democracy on Your Block: Inside Brooklyn’s Community Boards
Community boards are one of New York City’s most vital engines of grassroots democracy. From shaping land use and transportation decisions to advocating for city services, resources, and quality-of-life improvements, community boards offer a direct way for residents to influence the future of…
CBH Talk | The Cost of Gun Violence: Black Men, Trauma, and Community Repair
Across the United States, Black men bear a disproportionate share of the trauma created by gun violence—its physical toll, its psychological weight, and its generational consequences. Journalist and Pulitzer Prize–winner Trymaine Lee, in his powerful new book A Thousand Ways to Die, chronicles…
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