Before the Civil War, a predominantly black community flourished in Seneca . Villageon what is now Central Park.
On Sunday, as part of the celebration of June 13, the federal holiday that recognizes the end of slavery in the United States, Black storytellers, dancers, and musicians performed in park to tell the story of life in that village. This is one of the earliest examples of life after slavery for some Negroes in New York State.
“It is really important for people to know that this land is not only Central Park. It was actually owned by our own people at one point,” said Andrew Thomas Williams V, 30, a descendant of Andrew Williams. a shoe shiner at the age of 25 became one of the first Negroes to buy land in what would become Seneca Village.
Marie Warsh, a historian at the Central Park Conservancy, which organized the event, said census records and maps show about 1,600 people live on the land that will become Central Park. About 225 of them live in Seneca Village, a thriving African-American community.
“It was definitely the most densely populated and the most organized on the land that became Central Park,” Ms. Warsh said.
New York City officials used the famous field to seize land in 1857 to build Central Park and offer compensation to the people who lived there. Some objected, arguing that what they were being offered was disproportionate. Among them was Mr. Williams, who asked for $4,000 but was offered $2,335, according to a video produced by Conservancy.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who joined Sunday’s celebrations, noted how that upheaval resonates today, comparing the Seneca Village relocation to progress being made forced Negro residents out of present-day New York neighborhoods.
“When this village was demolished to build this park, we replaced the energy of Seneca Village,” said Adams from what is believed to be the community’s first church, the African Union Church. ,.
“It never came back,” he said of Seneca Village. “Started over and over again, and we wondered why we were seeing some of the crises we were facing in Black and Brown communities.”
He said the Black families living in Seneca Village made their base. “Black communities in the area were forced to move and rebuild in other neighborhoods, such as Harlem, Downtown Brooklyn and Bedford Stuyvesant,” Adams added, “And now,” Adams said. what is happening now? We are relocating them again. “
The settlement in Seneca Village dates back to the end of slavery in New York State. In 1817, the New York Legislature passed an act to abolish slavery and set July 4, 1827, as the date the law went into effect—nearly 36 years before President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. .
Blacks living in Lower Manhattan began moving north in the 1820s. Mrs. Warsh said they wanted to escape the “racial climate” of Lower Manhattan.
“Although the process of emancipation began around 1827, there were still many challenges facing downtown African Americans,” she said. “There is a desire to remove that and create an autonomous community where there is only more opportunity.”
German and Irish immigrants also live on the land that will become Central Park, but Seneca Village not only has houses but also gardens, a church and a school, Ms. Warsh said. Many were already landowners and had the right to vote.
Isheeka Edwards, 37, watched Sunday’s memorial service with her two children, Lesedi, 8, and Kopano, 3, as Gha’il Rhodes Benjamin, a talkative poet who leads the crowd to sing “This Little Light of Mine” is on the west side of the park near 85th Street, the former location of the 3rd Color School in Seneca Village.
Ms. Edwards, who said she lives in a community that is 1.6 percent black in the west, said she was specifically visiting the city to celebrate June 16. “Anything special is people. African-American or just meeting black people on a regular basis is restricted there,” she said.
She wants her children to “be aware of that side of America, that history, their own culture,” she said.
Natasha Mast, 42, who attended the event with her husband and two sons, aged 7 and 11, said she was grappling with what would happen next. “Shouldn’t it be returned somehow?” she asked. “That’s definitely something I’m thinking about and I don’t know what the right course of action is at this point in history.”
In the meantime, she plans to continue educating herself and her children about Seneca Village and June 13.
“I’m from Canada, but I didn’t know until recently June 16th and I don’t want my kids growing up unaware of this important day and what it means, so I came here to study. but also for them,” said Ms. Mast.
Priscilla Bruderer, a nurse who lives on the Upper West Side, also wants to make sure her kids know about Seneca Village and June 16.
“I’m happy that African Americans really have a place to live,” said her son, Mathias Bruderer, 10, listening to music and making bracelets as he learned about the history of Seneca Village.
Laika Calhoun, 17, a rising senior at Nanuet High School in Nanuet, NY, attended with her brother and parents. She said she experienced a range of emotions, including gratitude and sadness.
“It’s not just me in this position, I’m seeing other outstanding black people,” Calhoun said. “The dancers are real, the people are real – it’s not just about remembering what happened, but seeing an updated version of it.”
