State leaders on Wednesday allocated $350,000 for Brooklyn250, a remembrance program to commemorate Brooklyn’s role in the American Revolution.
Funded by state Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymembers Robert Carroll and Jo Anne Simon, Brooklyn250 is an initiative part of the nation's 250th birthday that will support different events across Brooklyn from July 4 to Aug. 27. The programming will include a reenactment of the Battle of Brooklyn, the creation of a collectible pamphlet and map, museum and archival exhibits, walking and trolley tours at historical locations, digital tours and literary events.
“The funding we’re announcing today will support a series of free educational, community-focused events across the borough to explore the borough's critical role in our fight for independence,” Gounardes said during a ceremony at Green-Wood Cemetery.
This summer marks the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Brooklyn (also referred to as the Battle of Long Island) that was fought in August 1776, the first and largest battle of the American Revolution and the first battle the nation fought under the name of The United States of America.
“This battle has for too long been forgotten,” Carroll said. “Right here in New York City, some of the most consequential, not just battles, but ideas, happened here. This funding will ensure that more children and adults know the role that Brooklyn and New York City at large played in that revolutionary period.”
With initial conversations beginning in September, the officials partnered with The Green-Wood Cemetery, the Old Stone House, Brooklyn Public Library’s Center for Brooklyn History, the Prospect Park Alliance and Fort Greene Park Conservancy to highlight the different ways Brooklyn and its communities contributed in the Revolutionary War.
Brooklyn250 will include a public reading of the Declaration of Independence, theatrical and musical performances, themed tours at The Green-Wood Cemetery, including “The Revolution Continues: Gay Green-Wood” and “Brooklyn’s Black Trailblazers.”
Some of the historical exhibitions include “Battle of Brooklyn: Fought and Remembered” at the BPL Center for Brooklyn History, “Breaking the Law: Themes of Protest and Disobedience from the Declaration of Independence Onward” at the Old Stone House, and “Black People and the Battle of Brooklyn” at Prospect Park’s Lefferts Historic House.
“We are really proud to offer free access to collections, programs and exhibitions that bring the past to life and ignite critical conversations about how Brooklyn's diverse history shapes the present and beyond,” said Lexy Mayers, executive director for the Center for Brooklyn History at Brooklyn Public Library.
Events begin as early as Friday with free trolley tours at the Green-Wood Cemetery for Juneteenth.
“It was a long war that didn’t end on the battlefield," said Meera Joshi, president of Green-Wood Cemetery. "It is a persistent war that continues to this day, and that is why it is equally as important to remember the battles that are not in that far distant past, and the ones we are facing today. We are really using the surroundings and the ability to understand how to touch and feel and see to learn the lessons of liberty, freedom and independence.”
