Press release

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CSS PREVIEWS NY HISTORICAL SOCIETY EXHIBIT ON SLAVERY IN NEW YORK

Nationally Recognized Editor and Historian Lerone Bennett, Jr. Speaks

New York, NY, November 21, 2006 -- The Community Service Society (CSS), New York City’s leading voice on behalf of low-income residents, joined the New York City Council Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, and Council Member Gale A. Brewer to host a reception and private viewing of New York Divided:  Slavery and the Civil War at the New-York Historical Society today. 

New York’s role in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the benefits city businesses received as a result of slavery are part of the artifacts, newspapers and photographs unveiled in New York Divided, the final exhibition in the New-York Historical Society’s 18-month exploration of Slavery in New York. 

David R. Jones, president and CEO of CSS and the longest serving trustee of the Historical Society said, “New York Divided is one of the most important historical presentations we can support.  This exhibit captures the truth about slavery in New York and reveals the untold story of the economic foundation and current landscape of New York today.”

The Slavery in New York series and this final installment are expected to be one of the Historical Society’s most popular and provocative exhibits and feature artifacts displayed for the first time including American art, newspapers, pamphlets of the Anti-Slavery Society, photographs of the Colored Orphan Asylum, the only surviving lottery wheels from the Draft Riots, and other historical documents and items. 

Guest speaker Lerone Bennett, Jr. noted historian, Executor Editor Emeritus of Ebony Magazine and author of “Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America, 1619-1961” said, “Black history is more than Black history.  Black history is a central component of American history which cannot be understood or redeemed without a confrontation with the Black gift to America and the American debt to Africa-America.” 

The New York Divided exhibit follows the landmark exhibition Slavery in New York, the most popular event in the history of the New-York Historical Society. 

Dr. Louise Mirrer, President of the New-York Historical Society said, “New York Divided takes a bold look at one of the most challenging periods in New York City’s history.  The ideas and stories that are part of our American history have the power to challenge conventional wisdom and provoke new thought and action.  This exhibition introduces a critical chapter in American history that is largely unknown to the general public.  I encourage everyone to stop in again to see it, and pass along its important messages.” 

The final installment, New York Divided:  Slavery and the Civil War, follows two groundbreaking exhibits; Slavery in New York, exhibitedOctober 2005 through March 2006 and Legacies: Contemporary Artists Reflect on Slavery, exhibited June 2006 through January 2007.  

The exhibit and private screening were also co-hosted by the New York City Council Black, Latino and Asian Caucus and Council.  Representing the Council was Co-Chair Robert Jackson, Council Member from the 8th District.  Council Member Gale A. Brewer of the 6th District, where the NYHS is located, co-hosted this evening’s event also.

Council Member Robert Jackson said, “On behalf of the Caucus we are honored to be a part of this evening.  This exhibit presents an uncomfortable portion of New York’s past, one that is often left out of traditional history lessons.  It is important for all New Yorkers to understand slavery’s relationship with New York City, how it aided its economic progress in the past and how the legacy of slavery still affects modern businesses.”

Council Member Gale A. Brewer, said, “I congratulate the Community Service Society on 160 years of service to the people of New York City.  By hosting this event at the New-York Historical Society’s New York Divided:  Slavery and the Civil War exhibit, CSS continues it historic commitment to fostering the difficult and honest conversations that are a prerequisite for real social justice.” 

 The exhibit also offers daily narrative readings of freed and captured slaves, lectures and panel discussions, a cell phone walking tour and Podcast, a companion book and gospel and spiritual music on weekends.  

Bennett added in closing, “We must understand that the Black experience is so inextricably intertwined with the forking points of the American experience that you can’t understand the American experience, you can’t understand New York City, Washington, D.C., George Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, the Civil War or the U.S. Constitution, without some understanding of Black history.  This means that the Black experience is a mainstream experience that is central to our identity and meaning as a people.”

“I encourage anyone and everyone to view the final exhibit, New York Divided.  It is an important chapter in the history of New York.  Most importantly, this exhibition, I believe, will stir people into thinking about how businesses in the city profited from slavery and the contemporary role corporations in New York play in the lives of Black New Yorkers today.”

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