Flatbush + Main : Malcolm X in Brooklyn

Index

03:02 - Histories and Ideas
15:54 - Into the Archives
34:08 - Voices of Brooklyn

Segment 1: Histories and Ideas


Most people associate Malcolm X with Harlem, but his legacy extends to this borough as well. Zaheer takes Julie and Flatbush + Main's listeners on an on-the-ground tour of Malcolm's Brooklyn. To read more about Malcolm X's history and legacy in Brooklyn, check out Zaheer's article, "Malcolm X in Brooklyn," in the African American Intellectual Historical Society's Black Perspectives.

Segment 2: Into the Archives


Regular listeners may recognize the collection we examined: the Arnie Goldwag Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality Papers (ARC.002). We have featured it in past episodes. You can peruse the finding aid here.

Here are images of the documents we looked at during this episode:

Muhammad Speaks clipping, October 11, 1963; Arnie Goldwag Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) collection, ARC.002, box 5, folder 6; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Letter to the Editor re: Malcolm X, March 24, 1965; Arnie Goldwag Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) collection, ARC.002, box 1, folder 1; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Segment 3: Voices of Brooklyn


The first narrator we listened to is Brooklyn-based community activist Richard Green, who is CEO of the Crown Heights Youth Collective, which he founded in 1977. Green was born in Honduras, and moved to the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights in 1958. His oral history, recorded in 2016, is still being processed as part of BHS's Voices of Crown Heights project and will be made available in full once complete. Special thanks to Green for allowing us to use the excerpt in this episode.

The second narrator we listened to is Dr. Josephine English. You can learn more about her and listen to her complete interview on BHS's online oral history portal.

Segment 4: Endorsements


Julie invited our listeners to visit BHS DUMBO, our new museum and gift shop located in DUMBO, and endorsed Hugh Ryan's upcoming talk on "The Queer Histories of Brooklyn's Working Waterfront" at BHS Pierrepont, Thursday, June 8, at 6:30pm. Tickets are $5 (free for members), and can be purchased here.

Zaheer endorsed "Stories of Neighborhood Change," a listening session and discussion of oral histories collected as part of the Voices of Crown Heights project. The event is Monday, June 12, at 6:30pm, at BHS Pierrepont, and is free. RSVP is encouraged.

Zaheer also announced the launch of BHS's new online oral history portal, featuring nearly 250 interviews from our oral history collections, including many we have featured on Flatbush + Main!

Last but not least, we talked about BHS's Teen Council, who created an exhibition featuring five women of Brooklyn’s past and present who have been active catalysts for education and empowerment, and invited the public out to the exhibition opening on May 31, 2017, from 5:30 – 7:30, at BHS Pierrepont.