Tag: Lefferts Historic House

Celebrate J’Ouvert and West Indian American Heritage

July 31, 2026

Get into the spirit of J’Ouvert and West Indian American Day Carnival, a beloved Brooklyn celebration, in Prospect Park! Brooklyn’s Backyard has always been a gathering place for Caribbean neighbors to share food, music and special memories. Prospect Park Alliance is proud to present programming that uplifts these vibrant traditions in the lead up to West Indian American Day Carnival on September 7.

Exhibit: Long Live J’ouvert
On View August 1-September 6
Lefferts Historic House, Free
Join Prospect Park Alliance and JouvayFest Collective for the Long Live J’ouvert! Pop Up Installation on-view at the tollbooth outside of Lefferts Historic House through Sunday, September 6. Long Live J’ouvert! delves into the vibrant history of J’ouvert, a significant cultural tradition originating in Trinidad & Tobago and now deeply rooted in Brooklyn. J’ouvert, meaning “opening of the day” in French, marks the start of the Carnival season in the Caribbean and is celebrated the night before Labor Day in Brooklyn. Born from the resistance of formerly enslaved Africans who fought to partake in pre-Lenten festivities, J’ouvert has evolved into a powerful symbol of resistance and resilience, commemorating enslavement and oppression and celebrating emancipation and freedom. The installation aims to deepen the public’s understanding of J’ouvert through photography and the exploration of traditional masquerade costumes and musical traditions.

Learn More

Guyana Folk Festival Symposium
Sunday, August 30, 12–6 pm
Lefferts Historic House, Free, RSVP!
Join Prospect Park Alliance and the Guyana Cultural Association of New York for a special day of exhibitions, panel discussions, games and performances that tell the multi-dimensional story of Musical Exchange: The Guyanese Experience.

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of Guyana’s independence, the theme for the 2026 Guyana Folk Festival season, organized by the Guyana Cultural Association of New York, Inc., is “Roots, Rhythm, and Harmony.” The symposium will focus on an under-examined aspect of Guyanese musical life: musical exchange among Guyana’s root cultures—Indigenous; European, especially Dutch, British, Scots, Irish, and Portuguese; African; Indian; and Chinese.

RSVP

c. Erik Kirk, Symmetry Photo Art

Celebrate America’s 250th in Prospect Park

May 28, 2026

To honor America’s 250th Anniversary, join Prospect Park Alliance for commemorations of the Battle of Brooklyn, the first and largest battle of the American War for Independence. This includes a recreation of Battle Pass fortifications in the park, free tours, and the exhibit, Black People and the Battle of Brooklyn at Lefferts Historic House.  In partnership with the Old Stone House of Brooklyn and the Brigade of the American Revolution, the Alliance will host a Battle of Brooklyn Reenactment on August 22.

Explore our full slate of events:

Black Loyalist Virtual Tour
Daily, July 1–August 31
Lefferts Historic House, Free

Join Prospect Park Alliance for a virtual tour of the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre in Shelburne, Nova Scotia at Lefferts Historic House. Many Black Brooklynites worked for the British army during the American Revolution. Some gained freedom from enslavement by doing so. When the Americans won the war, these Black Loyalists feared the new nation would not respect their rights. So they evacuated to Nova Scotia in 1783. The Black Loyalist Heritage Centre interprets, safeguards, and promotes the history and heritage of the Black Loyalists. This special virtual tour of the Centre will be available during open hours at Lefferts.

Exhibit: Battle Pass in Prospect Park
Daily, July 1–November 15
Battle Pass, Free

Join Prospect Park Alliance to learn more about the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Brooklyn, the first and largest battle of the American War for Independence, on its 250th anniversary with this replica of the famous Battle Pass. In August 1776, American troops established a defensive position on this site, in the hills separating Flatbush from the rest of Brooklyn, to hold off the British. However, on August 27, British troops evaded these defenses, forcing the Americans to withdraw across the Gowanus Creek to temporary safety. Nearly a century later, Prospect Park landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux named this area Battle Hill to commemorate the soldiers who fought there. This replica military installation serves as a place for visitors to learn more about this formative battle.

Exhibit: Black People and the Battle of Brooklyn
Daily, July 1–November 15
Lefferts Historic House, Free

Join Prospect Park Alliance to learn about the important and varied roles Black people played in the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Brooklyn in August 1776, the first and largest battle of the American War for Independence. They served as soldiers and spies on both sides, built American forts, maintained the British ships, and seized the conflict to better their lives. This pop-up exhibit in the yard of Lefferts Historic House explores this complex history by illustrating the different ways Black people related to the conflict, but also their shared struggles and goals. Come learn how the Africans enslaved by the Lefferts family and their neighbors and counterparts navigated the American War for Independence, including fighting at Battle Pass in what is now Prospect Park.

Tour: Battle of Brooklyn’s Battle Pass
Wednesdays–Sundays + Holidays, July 1–September 6, 2–3 pm
Lefferts Historic House, Free, RSVP

Join Prospect Park Alliance for a free tour to learn about the Battle of Brooklyn, the first and largest battle of the American War for Independence, on its 250th Anniversary. This one-hour tour begins and ends at Lefferts Historic House, and takes visitors to the park’s Battle Pass to see the replica fortifications where on August 27, 1776, thousands of Pennsylvania and New England soldiers fought their British and Hessian counterparts. Along the way, attendees will learn about the battle and its aftermath from the perspective of the Africans enslaved by the Lefferts family, soldiers who fought in what is now Prospect Park and the overall impact of the conflict on Flatbush and Brooklyn. Please note this tour leaves promptly at 2 pm.

RSVP

Battle of Brooklyn 250th Anniversary Reenactment
Sat, Aug 22, 10 am–12 pm
Prospect Park, Free, RSVP

Join the Prospect Park Alliance, the Old Stone House of Brooklyn and the Brigade of the American Revolution to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Brooklyn, the largest battle of the American War for Independence. Enjoy a re-enactment of the historic Battle of Brooklyn following the footsteps of the soldiers who fought in this historic military event, from the Long Meadow in Prospect Park down 3rd Street to the Old Stone House.

The public viewing area will be on the west side of the Prospect Park Long Meadow. Enter using the park entrances at Third Street, Garfield Place or Grand Army Plaza. View the map.
Please be advised that this battle reenactment will feature loud sounds and smoke.

Following the reenactment, the Old Stone House will host a commemoration of the Maryland 400, soldiers of the 1st Maryland Regiment who sacrificed themselves during the Battle of Brooklyn.

RSVP

Prospect Park Alliance’s America 250 events are made possible in part through “Brooklyn250” funding from the State of New York, through the support of Senator Andrew Gounardes, Assembly Member Robert Carroll, and Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon. Brooklyn250 is a borough-wide commemoration of the historic Battle of Brooklyn during the Semiquincentennial of the United States.

c. Obed Obwoge

Lefferts Springs into 2026

May 11, 2026

Prospect Park Alliance kicks off the 2026 Season at Lefferts Historic House with Shirley Chisholm Exhibit, Pinkster Celebration, Juneteenth Ogemdi Ude Dance Performance + Jamel Shabazz Book Talk

Celebrate Lenape, African American and Caribbean cultures with family-friendly events all season long at Lefferts Historic House Museum

BROOKLYN, May 11, 2026 — Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit organization that sustains Prospect Park, kicks off a full season of free, family-friendly programming at Lefferts Historic House museum, with the opening of The Shirley Chisholm Way: Brooklyn’s Blueprint for Change, a Pinkster celebration, a book talk with photographer Jamel Shabazz, an Ogemdi Ude contemporary dance performance with Danspace Project and more.

Operated by the Alliance in partnership with the Historic House Trust, the museum hosts exhibits, cultural programming and activities that explore the legacies of resistance and resilience of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking, whose unceded ancestral lands the park and house rest upon, and Africans who were enslaved by the Lefferts family.

Learn more about the Lefferts Historic House spring season and RSVP: prospectpark.org/lefferts. 

The Shirley Chisholm Way: Brooklyn’s Blueprint for Change
Exhibit Opening: Thursday, May 14, 6-8 pm
On view through November 15
Free, RSVP: prospectpark.org/chisholmway
Presented by Prospect Park Alliance and Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute (SCCI), this exhibit is organized around seven life lessons drawn from Chisholm’s tenacious career. It features stunning portraits of Chisholm by artist Al Johnson and rarely seen photographs and memorabilia from the Congresswoman’s campaigns, curated by Barbara Bullard, Creative Producer and President of SCCI. These materials offer inspirational insights into how Brooklyn’s beloved daughter broke down gender and racial barriers to become the first Black woman to serve in Congress. This exhibit provides visitors with a space to reflect on Chisholm’s legacy as Prospect Park Alliance welcomes the installation of a new monument in her honor at the Parkside and Ocean Avenue entrance in 2027.

“Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s unwavering advocacy in the face of immense prejudice is an inspiration to those in her home of Brooklyn and beyond,” said Morgan Monaco, President of Prospect Park Alliance. “We are honored to collaborate with Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute on such an important part of our Lefferts programming. As we prepare for the installation of a monument to the Congresswoman at the Park’s southeast entrance, this exhibit ensures her legacy is passed on to future generations.”

“This exhibit is an opportunity for Brooklynites to take inspiration from the life and work of one of our most influential historical figures,” said Dylan Yeats, Ph.D., Alliance Director of Museum Programs and Operations. “Chisholm was resilient and strategic, channeling her ancestors’ sense of justice and tenacity to pursue it no matter the obstacle. This makes The Shirley Chisholm Way a perfect fit for display at Lefferts Historic House, where we seek to honor the heroism of generations of Indigenous and Black Booklynites so audiences can draw power from their legacies today.”

“As curator, I see The Shirley Chisholm Way as a call for Brooklyn and communities around the world to reflect on our shared responsibility to build a more just and compassionate society,” said Barbara Bullard, Creative Producer and President of the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute. “Shirley Chisholm’s fearless leadership reminds us that every voice and every lived experience strengthens our collective path forward. Icons like Congresswoman Chisholm create the blueprint for transformation. Our communities matter, their stories matter, and future generations everywhere will inherit this vision with renewed purpose; the enduring hope that we stand boldly in our truth and use it to drive meaningful change.”

The Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute (SCCI) has been at the forefront of art, culture and justice and economic sustainability since 1977, with the official permission and participation of Congresswoman Chisholm herself in its inception and development.

Pinkster Celebration
Sunday, May 17, 2–5 pm
Free, RSVP: prospectpark.org/pinkster 
The Alliance welcomes Chief Baba Neil Clarke, the Pinkster Players and friends for a special celebration of this unique tradition, celebrated by Africans enslaved in Brooklyn for almost 200 years. Chief Baba Neil Clarke along with other cultural leaders revived this almost forgotten legacy as a way to commemorate the culture and history of Africans in New York. This family-friendly event features music, history, performances, storytelling, demonstrations, games and food related to this historic celebration.

Remembering the U.S. Colored Troops of Brooklyn
Monday, May 25, 2–5 pm
Free, RSVP: prospectpark.org/remembering-usct 
Join Prospect Park Alliance on Memorial Day to remember Black Brooklynites who fought to end slavery during the U.S. Civil War. Come listen to Frederick Douglass’ speech, “The Present and Future of the Colored Race in America,” which was first delivered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in May 1863. Then hear a reading of the names of the men of color who followed Douglass’ call to volunteer to fight with the newly formed U.S. Colored Troops and learn about how their families’ commemorations of their heroism helped create Memorial Day.

Healing Through Art in the Park: A Conversation Between Jamel Shabazz and Richard Green
Sunday, May 31, 2–5 pm
Free, RSVP: prospectpark.org/shabazz-green
Join Prospect Park Alliance for a discussion about the power of art and the park to heal with acclaimed photographer Jamel Shabazz and community-leader Richard Green. Shabazz and Green’s friendship and presence at Drummer’s Grove inspired decades of incredible photography in the park, as captured in the recently published Prospect Park: Photographs of a Brooklyn Oasis, 1980-2025. Spanning 45 years of Jamel Shabazz’s photography in Prospect Park, this gorgeous and meditative volume captures the heart and soul of Brooklyn though one of its most cherished spaces. Shabazz and Green will discuss the book’s creation and reception, reflect on their own journeys and Brooklyn’s over the last 45 years and share their creative, personal and collective strategies for resilience.

Ogemdi Ude: MAJOR
Friday, June 19, 6 pm
Prospect Park Boathouse, Free, RSVP:
prospectpark.org/ogemdi-ude
This celebratory Juneteenth performance of MAJOR, Ogemdi Ude‘s dance project exploring the physicality, history and interiority of majorette dance, is a co-presentation between Danspace Project’s Platform 2026: Secret Gardens and Prospect Park Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts initiative. Ude’s cast of all Black femme dancers and collaborators embraces majorettes as a form and fundamental relic of Black girlhood. A fierce investigation of physical memory, sexuality, sensuality, and community, MAJOR is a nuanced love letter to the folks who taught the team how to be proudly Black and proudly femme. The Chord Archive is showcased alongside performances, a physical and digital documentation of the creative process and personal historical accounts from former majorette dancers.

Also on View
Prospect Park Alliance also presents the following long-term installations at the museum:

Ancestral Whispers
Ancestral Whispers is a site-specific work by Prospect Park Alliance’s first Reimagine Lefferts Artist in Residence Adama Delphine Fawundu, which honors the heroism and lives of Africans enslaved by the Lefferts family. The installation features 25 screen-printed fabric banners that transform the house’s Flatbush Avenue facade, representing the 25 enslaved Africans discovered to date through original research and scholarship. Fawundu is a lifelong Brooklynite, photographer and visual artist whose work centers around themes of indigenization and ancestral memory, which earned her a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship.

Eelunaapéewi Ehaptoonáakanal: Voices of Lunáapeew/Lenape
Prospect Park Alliance and the Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing Collective (EL Collective), which brings together Lunáapeew/Lenape communities who have been displaced across Turtle Island (North America), present an exhibit celebrating 400 years of Indigenous resilience in Brooklyn. The exhibit features video interviews with Lunáapeew/Lenape knowledge-keepers and culture bearers about their relationships to their ancestral homelands.

Operating Hours
Lefferts Historic House is open Saturdays, Sundays and public school holidays, from 12 pm to 5 pm, from May through June; Wednesdays through Sundays, from 12 pm to 6 pm, from July through Labor Day; and Saturdays, Sundays and public school holidays 12pm to 5pm from Labor Day through November 15. For more information, visit prospectpark.org/lefferts.

Prospect Park Alliance
Prospect Park Alliance is the non-profit organization that sustains, restores and advances Prospect Park, Brooklyn’s Backyard, in partnership with the City of New York. The Alliance provides critical staff and resources that keep the Park green and vibrant for the diverse communities that call Brooklyn home. Learn more at prospectpark.org.

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Media Contact:
Vahni Kurra, [email protected]

New Video Exhibit: Voices of Lunáapeew/Lenape

July 2, 2025

Prospect Park Alliance and the Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing Collective (EL Collective), which brings together Lunáapeew/Lenape communities who have been displaced across Turtle Island (North America), present Eelunaapéewi Ehaptoonáakanal: Voices of Lunáapeew/Lenape, an exhibit on view at Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park celebrating 400 years of Indigenous resilience. The exhibit features video interviews with Lunáapeew/Lenape knowledge-keepers and culture bearers about their relationships to their ancestral homelands.

Join an opening celebration on Saturday, July 12, from 2–5 pm.

Free, RSVP: prospectpark.org/voices-of-lenape.

The exhibition is part of the Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts initiative, which is transforming the museum to explore the lives, resistance and resilience of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking, whose unceded ancestral lands the park and house rests upon, and Africans who were enslaved by the Lefferts family.

In addition to the exhibit, the Alliance, EL Collective and the American-Indian Community House will be hosting the Second United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park on September 13 and 14, 2025. Pow Wows are gatherings where Lenape/Lunáapeew and neighboring Indigenous nations socialize and celebrate life. Prospect Park hosted formal Pow Wows from 1916 to 1972. In 2018, the Park Avenue Armory hosted the First United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow. Reviving this tradition in the park will offer all Lenape/Lunáapeew an opportunity to celebrate their culture in their homelands and offer Brooklynites of all backgrounds the chance to enjoy the drumming, dancing, singing, art, crafts and foods of the original stewards of this land. In 2024, Prospect Park Alliance held a culture fair with the American Indian House and EL Collective as a precursor to the Pow Wow.

Lunáapeew/Lenape means human beings or, more specifically, “the ones who came from thought,” and is the name of the Indigenous peoples whose ancestral homelands encompassed what is today Brooklyn and the surrounding region. Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing, “the land of the Lunáapeew,” holds the stories of a civilization rich with a deep understanding of the delicate balance and mutual relationships necessary to nurture and sustain a healthy world.

“We are a nation who has been scattered to the winds because of the greed of not just the Dutch, but also the English after that and so forth, who chased us and massacred us for our land,” said George Stonefish, co-founder, Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing Collective, and ReImagine Lefferts advisor. “I want people to understand who the Lenape were and are, and the things we’ve given to modern culture that aren’t acknowledged.”

This video installation features Lunáapeew/Lenape knowledge-keepers and culture bearers who are members of the EL Collective. Interviewees discuss their histories, experiences and feelings about their homelands. They also celebrate the resilience of their communities, which remain committed to stewarding their cultures and their homelands despite 400 years of violent displacement and colonization.

“We are honored to join our partners at the Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing Collective to share with our community the history, resistance and resilience of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking, as well as the enduring art, culture and stories of the Lenapehoking today,” said Morgan Monaco, Prospect Park Alliance President. “This exhibit and our upcoming Pow Wow are an important step in healing deep-seated wounds from our nation’s past and ensuring that all in our community see themselves represented, welcomed and celebrated here in Prospect Park.”

“New Yorkers are deeply interested in the original people of this land,” said Dylan Yeats Ph.D., Prospect Park Alliance Director of Museum Programs and Operations. “This free and accessible exhibit offers audiences a chance to hear directly from the Lunáapeew or Lenape themselves about their histories, cultures, experiences and opinions.”

This exhibition complements the other core ReImagine Lefferts history and art exhibits including Ancestral Whispers, a site-specific work by Adama Delphine Fawundu on the house’s Flatbush Avenue porch which honors the heroism and lives of the Africans enslaved by the Lefferts family, and also interpretive profiles of the 25 enslaved Africans discovered to date through original research and scholarship.

About Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing Collective
The Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing Collective is establishing a partnership with all Delaware/ Munsee-Delaware/Lenni-Lenape/Lenape/Lunáapeew (Lunáapeew) communities in various projects that involve the Lunáapeew Nation that have been displaced across Turtle Island (North America). The Lunáapeew are the original inhabitants of Manahahtaanung, “At the place we’re gathering wood to make bows,” what is now an area that includes the five boroughs of New York City, large portions of the states of New York, southern Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. It is our hope these projects will allow us to unite in a way that allows for sharing of knowledge and an understanding of each community’s unique history of displacement. Learn more at lunaapeewahkiing.com.

Photo Caption (l to r): Chief Urie Ridgeway, Leadership, Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation; Cory Ridgeway, Director, EL Collective; Brent Stonefish, Co-Founder, EL Collective; George Stonefish, Co-Founder, EL Collective.

Caribpolitan, Andrea Pippins for I AM CARIBBEING

Caribbean American Heritage Month in Prospect Park

May 23, 2025

This June, Celebrate Caribbean American Heritage Month in Prospect Park! Join Prospect Park Alliance with JouvayFest Collective, BUSH WO/MAN Conversations Project, 2J + Friends, Maple Street Afterschool, Brooklyn Book Bodega, I AM CaribBEING and more to kick off a month of celebration in Brooklyn’s Backyard. Enjoy Caribbean music, food, dance, history, film and much more during this cultural celebration for Brooklynites of all ages.

Celebrating the film “The Big Drum, From Carriacou to Bklyn”
Sunday, June 8, 2–6 pm
Lefferts Historic House, Free, RSVP!
In celebration of Caribbean American Heritage Month, join JouvayFest Collective, BUSH WO/MAN Conversations Project, 2J & Friends and Prospect Park Alliance as we spotlight the Big Drum Festival from Carriacou—a vibrant expression of African heritage in the Caribbean. Explore the historical connections and cultural legacies of music, dance and tradition preserved through generations.

Boxitects in the Park
Sunday, June 22, 2–5 pm
Prospect Park Boathouse, Free, RSVP!
Join Prospect Park Alliance and Maple Street Afterschool for an uplifting community event to celebrate Caribbean heritage, community, literacy and play! Enjoy a story session reading Boxitects, the story of Meg, a brilliant and creative boxitect who creates extraordinary things out of ordinary cardboard boxes. Plus, celebrate Caribbean Heritage month! Enjoy Caribbean makers stations, art projects, movement workshops, vibrant storytelling and more. Free books will also be provided by the Brooklyn Book Bodega.

One Love Fest
Sunday, June 29, 11–7 pm
Prospect Park Boathouse, Free, RSVP!
One Love Fest is back for year 4, and I AM CaribBEING and Prospect Park Alliance are bringing the best of Caribbean culture to the Boathouse in Prospect Park. Get ready for live music that’ll keep you moving, dance workshops and performances that are full of flavor. You’ll find Caribbean vendors, makers, and some of the best island food in Brooklyn! It’s fun for all, so come along and let’s vibe together! Come through & celebrate Caribbean vibes like never before.

Pinkster Day Celebration in Prosepct Park

Pinkster Celebration in Prospect Park

April 9, 2025

Prospect Park Alliance is excited to open the 2025 season on Sunday, May 4 at the Lefferts Historic House with a vibrant celebration of Pinkster, featuring master drummer Chief Baba Neil Clarke, the Pinkster Players and friends. This dynamic event honors African cultural heritage in New York through music, storytelling, performances and more.

RSVP for the May 4 Pinkster Celebration!

Pinkster, the Dutch word for Pentecost, was historically the sole occasion each year when enslaved Africans in New York could legally gather with their families, engage in music and dance and trade goods. In doing so, enslaved Africans preserved their cultures, established new rituals and transmitted cultural wisdom to Africans stripped from their homelands and families, helping give communities the strength to endure the brutality of slavery. Over time, Pinkster transformed into one of the oldest African cultural festivals in what became the United States. In 1811, however, New York began outlawing this important centuries-old holiday, forcing African New Yorkers to preserve its traditions in private. Revivals of Pinkster have been growing in popularity since the 1970s and Chief Baba Neil Clarke has been a continuous spark, lighting the way for future generations in his work to preserve and continue the tradition.

Born and raised in Bedford Stuyvesant, Chief Baba Neil Clarke is a master drummer, performer and culture ambassador who received the Yoruba chieftaincy title, Alufopejo Awo of Osogbo in 2016, in recognition of his cultural preservation efforts. He has toured the world performing with artists such as Randy Weston, Harry Belafonte, Dianne Reeves and Miriam Makeba. Clarke is also a scholar who researches and teaches the history of percussion, and especially the role of the African drum in the Americas. His leadership in Pinkster celebrations spans decades and includes collaborations with institutions like Philipsburg Manor, Weeksville Heritage Center, and many others across the state—several of which still have Pinkster celebrations every year. “I got involved in Pinkster on invitation more than 20 years ago. It was just a drumming gig for me at the time, but it went well, and I kept doing it. Year after year, I learned more about the history of Pinkster through conversations, personal research and being immersed in the tradition,” shares Chief Baba Neil Clarke.

For Clarke, drumming is more than just music—it is a form of service and deep listening. “To be a drummer is to be of service. You must be able to listen,” he explains. “Being an African drummer is different from being in a drum circle. You are playing a specific rhythm for a ceremony or dance as a trained African drummer as opposed to jamming. That dynamic of listening to other ideas and what is being specifically expressed is very important.” He draws a parallel to New York’s built history: “I live in Bed-Stuy where people walk and gawk at the brownstones and their beauty. But how many are paying attention to the foundations? We take foundations for granted. Pinkster is a historical foundation of previously enslaved people and a historical foundation of the United States.”

Lefferts Historic House hosted its first Pinkster celebration in 1990 and now is in its third consecutive year reviving the Pinkster tradition as part of the Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts initiative, which seeks to re-envision the mission and programming of the Lefferts Historic House museum to focus on exploring the lives, resistance and resilience of the Lenapehoking and the Africans enslaved by the Lefferts. The Pinkster celebration at Lefferts Historic House holds deep personal significance for Clarke. “It’s an honor and a privilege for Prospect Park Alliance to consider its importance and embrace Pinkster at Lefferts Historic House,” he says, “It is also a bit humbling. This is something very close to my heart and what I grew up doing. As a teenager we were frequently chased when we gathered to drum. To have an institution acknowledge and celebrate this history means a lot.”

Chief Baba Neil Clarke envisions a future where Pinkster is recognized as a state holiday akin to the Juneteenth national holiday, highlighting its profound significance in both New York and United States history. He emphasizes the importance of active participation, encouraging individuals to engage with the celebration firsthand to fully grasp its essence and contribute to its evolution. He is interested in imagining what Pinkster would look like if it had continued into the 20th century, envisioning African dancers, spoken word, jazz and gospel. “By maintaining the core of the heart and soul of Pinkster, we can then artistically imagine what it would look like if it were to have continued,” shares Clarke. This year, the Alliance continues to host part of the Pinkster tradition, inviting the community to partake in the festivities and deepen their understanding of the historical and cultural importance of Pinkster.

RSVP for the May 4 Pinkster Celebration. Plus, the celebration continues with Pinkster events throughout Brooklyn:

Saturday, May 17 at Wyckoff House Museum
Sunday, June 1 at Weeksville Heritage Center

Generous funding for the Pinkster Celebration as part of the ReImagine Lefferts Initiative is provided by the Mellon Foundation.

Alliance Awarded $1.5 Million from Mellon Foundation

March 12, 2025

Prospect Park Alliance has received a $1.5 million Humanities in Place grant from the Mellon Foundation to create new outdoor exhibits for Lefferts Historic House Museum as part of the Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts initiative. This initiative seeks to re-envision the mission and programming at the museum to recognize its role as a site of dispossession and enslavement, and explore the stories of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking whose unceded ancestral lands the house rests upon and the Africans who were enslaved by the Lefferts family.

This grant follows a $275,000 Mellon grant awarded to the Alliance in 2023, which enabled the Alliance to develop the ReImagine Lefferts Interpretive Plan, created in 2024 by Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA), designers of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. This plan will advance our work to recognize the site’s history, connect with descendant communities and help anchor the narratives of those who have traditionally been silenced.

“ReImagine Lefferts is a critical initiative for Prospect Park Alliance, and we are greatly appreciative of the Mellon Foundation for providing the funding to make this vision possible,” said Prospect Park Alliance President, Morgan Monaco. “As the Alliance’s first Black leader, I am honored to be ushering in a new era of recognition and celebration of the stories and histories that have been ignored for centuries. This initiative is an important step of many to help heal deep-seated wounds from our nation’s past. By bringing this interpretive plan to life, we seek to make the museum a place for healing, as well as a forum for thoughtful dialogue and learning for our community, and are grateful for our partners at the Mellon Foundation for their recognition of this essential work and its impact.” 

The interpretive plan is centered on a series of outdoor exhibits that engage park visitors. Upon entrance to the grounds, there will be large-scale panels curated by representatives from nations across the Lenape diaspora and a Dikenga Cosmogram that honors the ancient  wisdom Africans brought with them to the Americas. The plan also features outdoor exhibits about the Lenape creation story, a Freedom-Seeker wall, and spaces for live events and programs that do not shy away from the history of dispossession and enslavement, but emphasize and celebrate the inspirational resilience of descendant communities today and the ways their cultures endure. As a first step in the new interpretation, the Alliance also launched its first artist-in-residence, Adama Delphine Fawundu’s large-scale site-specific installation, Ancestral Whispers in Spring 2024.

“We are grateful to the Mellon Foundation for their recognition of the Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts initiative. With descendent community guidance, we created an amazing new plan to more fully commemorate Brooklyn’s Indigenous and African histories in the landscape. To now take the next step to bring it to life is transformative,” said Dylan Yeats, Ph.D. Prospect Park Alliance Director of Museum Operations and Programs. “One of the most important things we learned throughout the process is the necessity of ongoing partnerships with individuals and organizations already stewarding this living history, and it really is the brilliance, creativity and vision of our community partners that make this initiative a success. We look forward to making this plan a reality thanks to this generous funding.”

The design of the new museum interpretation will begin in the coming months, and the Alliance  looks forward to welcoming the community to the house for a workshop or series of workshops that will inform the design.

Learn more about the Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts initiative.

c. Obed Obwoge

Alliance Debuts Adama Delphine Fawundu’s ‘Ancestral Whispers’

June 28, 2024

Prospect Park Alliance’s first ReImagine Lefferts Artist in Residence Adama Delphine Fawundu’s large-scale, site-specific installation, Ancestral Whispers is now on view at Lefferts Historic House.  

In 2021, the Alliance launched the ReImagine Lefferts initiative, funded through a Humanities in Place grant from the Mellon Foundation. The initiative seeks to re-envision the mission and programming of the museum to focus on exploring the lives, resistance and resilience of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking, whose unceded ancestral lands the park and house rests upon, and the Africans enslaved by the Lefferts family. By focusing on stories of resistance, resilience, empowerment and joy, while also recognizing the legacies of dispossession, enslavement and oppression, the Alliance seeks to create a safe space for engaging with our collective past as well as contemporary issues affecting our communities today.

Fawundu is a lifelong Brooklynite, photographer and visual artist whose work centers around themes of indigenization and ancestral memory, which earned her a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship. “When the Alliance reached out it was so special because we were both on a specific trajectory. My whole existence is based in this neighborhood. The smell of the grass when it rains in the park means so much to me…I have such a history here. It felt very much like a 360 degree event to connect with the ReImagine team here in Prospect Park,” reflects Artist in Residence, Adama Delphine Fawundu on initial conversations with the Alliance.

For her commission, Fawundu created a large-scale, site-specific installation inspired by the research the Alliance conducted into the lives of Africans enslaved by the Lefferts family. To date, the Alliance has identified 25 people enslaved at the house between its 1783 construction and the 1827 abolition of slavery in New York. Fawundu created 25 fabric banners that transform the house’s Flatbush Avenue facade, honoring the heroism of these Africans enslaved by the Lefferts family. In addition, Fawundu’s 2020 video performance piece, In the Face of History Freedom Cape, filmed in part in Prospect Park and Lefferts Historic House, is on view.

“Art can be such a powerful tool for social justice, and for a dialogue about legacy, agency and creativity. When we have art in public spaces, we create meaningful opportunities for people to reflect on the beauty of the artwork in fellowship with other park users and with nature,” says Prospect Park Alliance President, Morgan Monaco. “Prospect Park Alliance welcomes the entire community to join us for the debut of our first Artist in Residence and the second season of our ReImagine Lefferts initiative, which has shifted our interpretation to tell these stories of resistance and resilience. It is my hope that visitors will see a version of themselves represented in this museum and feel seen, honored and welcome. The season is an especially significant one as we share Ancestral Whispers with our community, which celebrates the heroism of Africans enslaved by the Lefferts family, and leverages the power of art to heal deep-seated wounds from our nation’s past.”

5.30.24 Lefferts Reception, Adama Delphine Fawundu, Ancestral Whispers

View the exterior installation of Ancestral Whispers at Lefferts Historic House daily + view the interior installation during open hours from 12 — 4 pm on Saturdays + Sundays through December 1.

c. Obed Obwoge

Prospect Park Alliance Unveils ReImagine Lefferts Interpretive Plan

June 11, 2024

Prospect Park Alliance has partnered with Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA), designers of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture amongst many others globally, to create a new interpretive plan for the Lefferts Historic House museum that shifts the museum’s focus to explore the lives, resistance and resilience of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking, whose unceded ancestral lands the park and house rests upon, and the Africans enslaved by the Lefferts family.

“As the Alliance’s first Black leader, I am honored to be ushering in this new interpretive plan and a new era of recognition and celebration of the stories and histories that have been ignored for centuries. Through this plan we seek to make the museum a place for healing and a forum for thoughtful dialogue and learning for our community,” said Morgan Monaco, Prospect Park Alliance President. 

“All of us at RAA are committed to creating public spaces that foster understanding and empathy. The Reimagine Lefferts initiative offers a unique chance to prioritize meaningful dialogue and reflection on essential but also evolving histories, in a set of special spaces designed to bring the city together in recognition of their significance,” said Nick Appelbaum, Ralph Appelbaum Associates President. 

In 2021, the Alliance launched the ReImagine Lefferts Initiative through a Humanities in Place grant from the Mellon Foundation. Through this initiative, the Alliance and RAA have developed an interpretive plan that will guide the Alliance in creating future exhibits and programming. The goal is to foster a safe and accessible space for engaging audiences with our collective past, as well as contemporary issues affecting descendant communities today. The plan is an ongoing and evolving roadmap for the museum, and was crafted from an intensive, year-long community engagement process that encompassed thousands of hours of conversation, insight, feedback and guidance from descendant communities, culture bearers, scholars, artists, civic leaders and museum professionals.

“The descendant guidance we’ve received is essential,” said Dylan Yeats, Prospect Park Alliance ReImagine Lefferts Project Manager. “One of the most important things we learned throughout the process is the importance of ongoing partnerships with individuals and organizations already stewarding this living history, and it really is the brilliance, creativity and vision of our community partners that make this initiative a success.”

The interpretive plan is centered on a series of outdoor exhibits that engage park visitors. Upon entrance to the grounds, there will be large-scale panels curated by representatives from nations across the Lenape diaspora and a Dikenga Cosmogram that honors the ancient  wisdom Africans brought with them to the Americas. The plan also features public art, healing gardens, a Freedom-Seeker wall, and spaces for live events and programs that do not shy away from the history of dispossession and enslavement, but  emphasize and celebrate the inspirational resilience of descendant communities today and the ways their cultures endure. As a first step in the new interpretation, the Alliance has launched its first artist-in-residence, Adama Delphine Fawundu’s Ancestral Whispers.

Elements of the interpretive plan will be developed over the next year, and the Alliance’s work to solicit guidance from descendant communities to inform the future of the Lefferts Historic House will continue through events and other engagements. 

View the plan and learn more about Prospect Park Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts Initiative. 

c. Obed Obwoge

Elevating Black Queer Ancestors: An Inside Look

June 7, 2024

Celebrate Pride with Prospect Park Alliance at the Lefferts Historic House on Thursday, June 13, for Elevating Black Queer Ancestors: a meaningful history-packed evening presented through the Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts initiative. The event will be hosted by Lefferts Historic House ​​Public Programs Manager Riah Kinsey, who brings a colorful background and interest in Black queer history. Learn more about Riah’s work to delve into the histories of Black queer ancestors and get a sneak peak at the stories that will be shared at the event. 

RSVP for Elevating Black Queer Ancestors.

Riah Kinsey pictured outside of Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park

Riah Kinsey pictured outside of Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park c. Obed Obwoge

Riah started their journey into the history field through a passion for recovering the stories of marginalized people. While issues of race, gender and sexuality always formed the core of their scholarship, it was not until he began to consider their own identity that the focus of their work truly began to shift to center on Black queer lives.

Their interest in Black queer history was sparked in their university studies of historical archaeology. When tasked with searching through documents in preparation for an upcoming excavation, Kinsey encountered a will that forbade the sale or hire of an enslaved woman by her enslaver’s widow, which ensured her freedom upon the widow’s death.

“I realized that if there are historical documents that speak to the intimate lives and experiences of even the most marginalized inhabitants of the property we were excavating, then there could be documents that do the same for my own ancestors. And if there is this kind of documentation for my biological ancestors, then what about my spiritual ancestors: the Black, queer people who came before me?” Kinsey recalls.

“I quickly found that there is a necessity to think outside the box, both about where to look for information and about how to interpret findings. This need for creativity isn’t due to a comparative lack of information, or even a lack of quality information, but because the current frameworks for research and analysis were never designed to tell our stories.”

This desire to think creatively when tracing Black people’s lives through history, even when there are dead-ends in records, is exactly what interested Kinsey in the Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts initiative, which seeks to explore the lives, resistance and resilience of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking, whose unceded ancestral lands Prospect Park and Lefferts House rests upon, and the Africans enslaved by the Lefferts family. Kinsey is excited about instilling in others the range of careers, knowledge and meaning-making that are possible in the field of history, especially through events like Elevating Black Queer Ancestors. 

In preparation, Kinsey has pulled from a variety of uncommon archives in tracing key figures to highlight and honor. This includes Mary Jones, a Black, trans sex worker and pickpocket in antebellum New York. Mary is one of the first recorded gender non-conforming or transgender persons in America. Her life can be pieced together through newspapers, court records and contemporary tabloid literature, which documents countless arrests and incarcerations, many of which were a direct result of her refusal to present as a man. In one famous police interview, Mary was asked “How do you identify? Why do you dress like this? What is your background?” Kinsey explains that her answer was something along the lines of “I always dress like this amongst people of my own color,” which speaks to the experience of queer people of color finding community with each other at that time.

Pictured above is a source from Kinsey’s research on Mary. “The Man-Monster, Peter Sewally, alias Mary Jones &c&c. Sentenced 18th June 1836 to 5 years imprisonment at hard labor at Sing Sing for Grand Larceny. Published by H.R. Robinson.” Image courtesy The Smithsonian Institute. Despite its salacious title, the lithograph portrays Jones as an elegant Black woman.

“The Man-Monster, Peter Sewally, alias Mary Jones &c&c. Sentenced 18th June 1836 to 5 years imprisonment at hard labor at Sing Sing for Grand Larceny. Published by H.R. Robinson.” Image courtesy The Smithsonian Institute. Despite its salacious title, the lithograph portrays Jones as an elegant Black woman.

Many believe that Mary’s life story ends with her infamous 1836 incarceration for pickpocketing. Kinsey however dug deeper to find she was arrested an additional 12 times, and often imprisoned further following these arrests. While extremely tragic for Mary, each arrest created some form of documentation that helps to fill in the gaps of her extraordinary life. 

These findings led Kinsey to ask the question, “Can we use the same methods of research as we did with Mary Jones to learn more about other queer Black people?” Utilizing free-to-use digital archives such as Internet Archive, HathiTrust, and Fulton History, Kinsey used their research experience with Jones to search keywords like effeminate, masculine, dressed in womens clothes, or masquerading as a man, and was amazed at how much there was to find. Through Elevating Queer Ancestors, he hopes to show that there is much, often buried, information to be sifted through to find the beginning threads of many Black queer ancestors’ stories in New York and throughout the world. 

“Whether it’s talking about Mary Jones or uplifting the untold stories of the indigenous Lenape people or the Africans enslaved here in Flatbush, all of the work within the ReImagine Lefferts initiative points back to the question of which stories have been historically neglected and why, and how can we tell them now?” shares Kinsey. “While the work done through the initiative uncovers the names of people enslaved by the Lefferts family, the fact of the matter is that the records were always there, they just needed someone to look for them and interpret them appropriately. The same is true of the as-yet-unknown Black queer residents of early New York.”

Kinsey and the team at ReImagine Lefferts understand that many make the detrimental assumption that records on the histories of Black life and especially Black queer life do not exist. “This is just blatantly untrue. Though many historical archives have been designed to hide or silence a person’s or a group of people’s existence, there are always ways to look deeper and to expand and contextualize stories–which is exactly what the ReImagine Lefferts Initiative aims to do,” reflects Kinsey.

“The dire importance of championing research and building access to marginalized histories is incredibly clear, especially now. When people can see themselves in history, especially young people, that can help expand their hopes and dreams of what is possible in the world,” explained Kinsey, on their goals to develop regular programming on genealogy and historical research. 

It is important to reflect on how far New York and our society have come in striving to secure equality, but also how marginalized people have always worked within our own communities to uplift and support each other, regardless of the oppressive forces at play. “Initiatives like ReImagine Lefferts do just this and more, encouraging us towards a better future for everyone – Black, trans and queer people included.”

RSVP for Elevating Black Queer Ancestors on Thursday, June 13, and learn more about Prospect Park Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts Initiative.