Dreams of Black Wall Street

10/10/2023

While an 1863 draft for the Civil War issued by President Abraham Lincoln's government sparked anger among many New Yorkers who resented the fact that the wealthy could buy their way out of the draft, these New Yorkers also resented the idea of fighting in a war that had come to be seen as one to free African Americans.

On July 13th, angry mobs of thousands of New Yorkers directed their anger first toward military and government buildings before turning on anyone in their way, police and soldiers included. The mobs then turned their sights onto abolitionists and anti-slavery activists, and, Black men and women, their homes and businesses.

The violence continued for three days. Estimates of the death toll range from 74 to 1,200. Some experts estimate that dozens of Blacks were killed. Several thousand Black residents were made homeless. Millions of dollars worth of property were destroyed, including an orphanage for African American children.

Learn about all of this and more on the podcast, SE 04 EP 08 The 1863 New York Draft Riots and Massacre. Hit the link in the bio to listen. 👆🏽

26/09/2023

By 1840 nearly 200 FREE African Americans lived in the town of Westchester, located in what is today part of the East Bronx. In 1849, several free Black men formed the first Black church in the Bronx, known as the Bethel A.M.E. Church, around which a free African American community developed.

Because Westchester was a bit safer and less racist for African Americans than Manhattan. It also offered abolitionists more secluded areas to organize, including David Ruggles, one of the most prominent anti-slavery activists and abolitionists of the 19th century. He was associates with one of Westchester's residents, Uriah Copeland, a founding trustee of the Bethel A.M.E. church. 

Learn more about the antebellum free Black community of Westchester located in the present-day New York borough of the Bronx on SE04 EP07 of . Link in Bio to listen. 👆🏽

17/09/2023

WEEKSVILLE
• After New York State abolished slavery in 1827, free African Americans bought land in what would becone Weeksville: a self-sustaining predominantly Black community in the present-day Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY.

• Weeksville grew to become the second-largest African American community in Antebellum America.

• Weeksville became a symbol of hope for African Americans in pre-Civil War New York when Blacks had suffered major legislative and legal setbacks.

• Weeksville offered people of African descent a place to live with dignity, own land, enjoy community, freedom, relative safety, economic opportunity, to worship, to be educated - and for many - a place to pursue ideals of prosperity and happiness

More about Weeksville on SE04 EP06 of Dreams of Black Wall Street.
👇🏽 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/se04-ep06-weeksville-brooklyn/id1497778162?i=1000627866591

17/09/2023

WEEKSVILLE
• After New York State abolished slavery in 1827, free African Americans bought land in what would becone Weeksville, a self-sustaining predominantly Black community in the present-day Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY.

• Weeksville grew to become the second-largest African American community in Antebellum America.

• Weeksville became a symbol of hope for African Americans in pre-Civil War New York when Blacks had suffered major legislative and legal setbacks.

• Weeksville offered people of African descent a place to live with dignity, own land, enjoy community, freedom, relative safety, economic opportunity, to worship, to be educated - and for many - a place to pursue ideals of prosperity and happiness

More about Weeksville on SE04 EP06 of Dreams of Black Wall Street.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/se04-ep06-weeksville-brooklyn/id1497778162?i=1000627866591

‎Show Dreams of Black Wall Street, Ep SE04 EP06 WEEKSVILLE (BROOKLYN) - Sep 14, 2023

17/09/2023

Another mileston. We've got !

05/09/2023

Martha Peterson, "the Woman in the Iron Coffin."


SE04 EP05 NEWTOWN.

This is what forensic archeologists and anthropologists believe a woman named Martha Peterson looked like when she was alive more than 170 years ago. More than a decade ago, Forensic archeologist Scott Warnasch reconstructed her her face and pieced together historic evidence to tell a story about her life.

Peterson's body was discovered inside of an iron coffin in 2011 by construction workers in Queens, New York, hence why she was dubed, "the woman in the iron coffin." When forensic scientists examined the body, they
discovered it was that of a young African American woman born prior to the Civil War who died from smallpox: Martha Peterson.

The re-discovery of Peterson's body more than a century and a half after her death shed new light on the 19th century free Black community she lived in at the time, called Newtown - as well as the site of an African American burial ground, which activists fought to protect from being destroyed by construction.

Founded by free African Americans after New York state abolished slavery BUT BEFORE the US abolished slavery, Newtown was located in what is the present-day neighborhood of Elmhurst in Queens.

Learn more about Peterson, her family, and the community of Newtown on
SE04 EP05 NEWTOWN








I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since the discovery of the preserved body of Martha Peterson–the Woman in the Iron Coffin. Reconstructing her identity and piecing together her life, family and connections to not only the Fisk and Raymond families but also early Black abolitionist and educator Reverend James Pennington, has given me a broad but intimate view of a critical yet largely overlooked period of American history–the early 19th-century. The work has also provided a relatively fine-grained view into life in the rural African American community of Elmhurst, Queens, then called Newtown. Additionally, the scientific discoveries regarding Martha’s death from smallpox are more visceral and relevant than ever. These experiences and...

‎Show Dreams of Black Wall Street, Ep SE04 EP05 NEWTOWN (QUEENS) - Aug 30, 2023

25/08/2023

Sandy Ground was a community settled prior to the Civil War and the abolition of slavery in 1833 by African-American oystermen fleeing the restrictive industry laws of Maryland. It's located on the southwestern shore of Staten Island near once plentiful oyster beds.

According to the Sandy Ground Historical Society, Sandy Ground boasts as the “oldest continuously inhabited free Black settlement in the United States.” It was a once-bustling community supported by farming initially and oystering, beginning in the 1840s. Today, descendants of the founders of Sandy Ground are fighting to preserve the few vestiges of the community that remain.

Let's discuss!
SE 04 EP 03 SANDY GROUND (STATEN ISLAND)
👇🏽
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/se-04-ep-03-sandy-ground-staten-island/id1497778162?i=1000625419155

Photos: courtesy of the Sandy Ground Historical Society.

25/08/2023

Sandy Ground was a community settled prior to the Civil War and the abolition of slavery in 1833 by African-American oystermen fleeing the restrictive industry laws of Maryland. It's located on the southwestern shore of Staten Island near once plentiful oyster beds.

According to the Sandy Ground Historical Society, Sandy Ground boasts as the “oldest continuously inhabited free Black settlement in the United States.” It was a once-bustling community supported by farming initially and oystering, beginning in the 1840s. Today, descendants of the founders of Sandy Ground are fighting to preserve the few vestiges of the community that remain.

Let's discuss!
SE 04 EP 03 SANDY GROUND (STATEN ISLAND)

Link in bio to listen. 👆🏽

20/08/2023

Before Central Park in New York City, there was Seneca Villiage. In 1825, the community was settled by African Americans
along the Park’s perimeter from West 82nd to West 89th Street in

One of a few African-American enclaves at the time, by the late 1850’s the city took over the land through eminent domain, and about 1,600 people were displaced.

Link below to listen. 👂 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/se-04-ep-03-seneca-village/id1497778162?i=1000624460161 to listen.

‎Show Dreams of Black Wall Street, Ep SE 04 EP 03 SENECA VILLAGE - Aug 14, 2023

07/08/2023

Who were some of the more prominent leaders among the Black elite in antebellum New York? Dreams of Black Wall Street Part II of SE04 EP02 THE BLACK ELITE IN ANTEBELLUM NEW YORK picks up where PART I left off.

Link below 👇🏽to listen.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/se-04-ep02-the-black-elite-in-antebellum-new-york-city-part-2/id1497778162?i=1000623323173

29/07/2023

The Black Elite in pre-Civil War New York City were not only socially-minded. They were abolitionists, business owners, faith leaders, activists, educators, community leaders, and much more. If you enjoy portrayals of the Black elite in the HBO series, “The Gilded Age,” you'll be fascinated by the real "colored aristocracy" in antebellum New York City.

Black high society of the 19th century has historically been an under-explored part of American history, in part, because of the stereotypes of African Americans formed during Reconstruction. Let's talk about it!

Dreams of Black Wall Street
SE04 EP02: THE BLACK ELITE IN ANTEBELLUM NEW YORK CITY PART 1

Link below to listen. 👇🏽
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/se-04-ep02-the-black-elite-in-antebellum-new-york-city-part-1/id1497778162?i=1000622535892

‎Show Dreams of Black Wall Street, Ep SE04 INTRODUCTION - Jul 14, 2023

26/07/2023

New York City had a number of free African American communities prior to the Emancipation Proclamation?

SE04 of Dreams of Black Wall Street

to listen.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dreams-of-black-wall-street/id1497778162

25/07/2023

New York City had a number of FREE African American communities prior to the Emancipation Proclamation?

SE04 of

to listen!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/se-04-ep1-part-2-blacks-on-wall-street-how-black-people/id1497778162?i=1000621831168

19/07/2023

You can ban books and curriculum but you can’t our history. PERIOD! We will continue to tell our stories. When started nearly 3 years ago, it was supposed to be a one-season project. Here we are now in Season 4 because the times we live in call for it.

Season 4 tells the stories of free Black communities in PRE-CIVIL WAR NEW YORK as well as the New York City Draft Riots and Massacre of 1863. Just so happens that this week is the anniversary of the riots and massacre (July 11-July 16). Episode 1 is out now. Never let them erase you.

Link in bio to listen! 👆🏽

‎History · 2023

18/07/2023

You can ban books and curriculum but you cannot our history. PERIOD! We will continue to tell our stories. When started nearly 3 years ago, it was supposed to be a one-season project. Here we are now in Season 4 because the times we live in call for it.

Season 4 tells the stories of free Black communities in PRE-CIVIL WAR NEW YORK as well as the New York City Draft Riots and Massacre of 1863. Just so happens that the week of the launch of SE04 was the anniversary of the New York Draft Riots (July 11-July 16). Episode 1 is out now. Never let them erase you.

Link in bio to listen! 👆🏽

15/07/2023

You can ban books and curriculum but you can’t our history. PERIOD! We will continue to tell our stories. When Dreams of Black Wall Street started nearly 3 years ago, it was supposed to be a one-season project. Here we are now in Season 4 because the times we live in call for it.

Season 4 tells the stories of free Black communities in PRE-CIVIL WAR NEW YORK as well as the New York City Draft Riots and Massacre of 1863. Just so happens that this week is the anniversary of the riots and massacre (July 11-July 16). Episode 1 is out now. Never let them erase you.

Link below to listen! 👇🏽

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dreams-of-black-wall-street/id1497778162

08/05/2022

👏🏽 Give 👏🏽 Pauli 👏🏽 Murray 👏🏽 her 💐!!!

Listen. 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/se3-e11-pauli-murray-durham-native-and-unsung-heroin/id1497778162?i=1000558327581

- Pauli Murray was not a mother of a child but she was most certainly one of the mothers of the .

- Not only was Pauli Murray was one of the most important Civil Rights leaders that Black Durham ever produced, she was also one of the most important Civil rights leaders of the 20th century.

- Murray was a jurist and activist who contributed some of the legal groundwork to the civil rights movement.

- Pauli gained national attention during her failed attempt to study at the all-white University of North Carolina, which is when Murray developed a life-long friendship with the first lady at the time, Eleanor Roosevelt.

- Murray was a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) and helped form the nonviolence-focused Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).

- Murray went to the University of California Boalt School of Law where s/he received an LLM (Master of Laws) degree.

- In 1951 Murray published the book, States’ Laws on Race and Color. Thurgood Marshall, head of the legal department at the (NAACP) at the time, described it as the “Bible” for civil rights litigators.

- Shortly after her book Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family, came out in 1956, Murray took a job in the litigation department at the law firm, Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton, and Garrison.

- In 1965, Pauli became the first African-American to receive a JSD degree from Yale Law School.

- The accolades go on and on. So why isn’t Murray a household name? Murray never sought a public profile. Though experts surmise that her gender non-conformity must have been a factor. Nevertheless, recent efforts to give Murray the recognition she deserves have shined a brighter light on her incredible life. Hear more about the incredible life of Pauli Murray on the latest episode of Dreams of Black Wall Street SE3 E11 Pauli Murray: Durham native and Unsung He**in of the Civil Rights Movement

Link below to listen. 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/se3-e11-pauli-murray-durham-native-and-unsung-heroin/id1497778162?i=1000558327581

Photo cred: Carolina Digital Library and Archives.

‎Show Dreams of Black Wall Street, Ep SE3 E11 Pauli Murray: Durham native and Unsung He**in of the Civil Rights Movement - Apr 21, 2022

08/05/2022

👏🏽 Give 👏🏽 Pauli 👏🏽 Murray 👏🏽 her 💐!!!

- Pauli Murray was not a mother of a child but she was most certainly one of the mothers of the .

- Not only was Pauli Murray was one of the most important Civil Rights leaders that Black Durham ever produced, she was also one of the most important Civil rights leaders of the 20th century.

- Murray was a jurist and activist who contributed some of the legal groundwork to the civil rights movement.

- Pauli gained national attention during her failed attempt to study at the all-white University of North Carolina, which is when Murray developed a life-long friendship with the first lady at the time, Eleanor Roosevelt.

- Murray was a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) and helped form the nonviolence-focused Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).

- Murray went to the University of California Boalt School of Law where s/he received an LLM (Master of Laws) degree.

- In 1951 Murray published the book, States’ Laws on Race and Color. Thurgood Marshall, head of the legal department at the (NAACP) at the time, described it as the “Bible” for civil rights litigators.

- Shortly after her book Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family, came out in 1956, Murray took a job in the litigation department at the law firm, Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton, and Garrison.

- In 1965, Pauli became the first African-American to receive a JSD degree from Yale Law School.

- The accolades go on and on. So why isn’t Murray a household name? Murray never sought a public profile. Though experts surmise that her gender non-conformity must have been a factor. Nevertheless, recent efforts to give Murray the recognition she deserves have shined a brighter light on her incredible life. Hear more about the incredible life of Pauli Murray on the latest episode of
SE3 E11 Pauli Murray: Durham native and Unsung He**in of the Civil Rights Movement

Link in bio to listen. 👆🏽👆🏽👆🏽

Photo cred: Carolina Digital Library and Archives.

08/04/2022

25/03/2022

have often been omitted or written out of history, including many women leaders of Black Durham in the early 20th century. This is when Durham, North Carolina’s was at it’s height.

Much of the work of the late Dr. Leslie Brown focused on analyzing the lives of working class, middle class and elite Black women and men in Durham, North Carolina. In doing so she amplified the lives and voices of Black women who played pivotal roles in the upbuilding of their community, particularly after the disfranchisement of Black men in North Carolina in 1900.

Brown’s work was groundbreaking and significantly expanded what is understood about the social fabric of what was once known as the “Capital of the Black Middle Class.”

Learn more in the latest episode of Dreams of Black Wall Street. Link below to listen. 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s3-e9-documenting-unsung-women-leaders-of-black/id1497778162?i=1000554388568

‎Show Dreams of Black Wall Street, Ep S3 E9 Documenting Unsung Women Leaders of Black Durham and North Carolina - Mar 17, 2022

13/03/2022

A 90-year-old former schoolteacher’s collection includes Muhammad Ali’s boxing shoes and Tuskegee Airmen headgear — but it also features Ku Klux Klan toys.

11/03/2022

🚨 🚨
Hear about the legacy of Durham pioneers, John Merrick and Dr. Aaron Moore, from their descendants on S3 E8 of Dreams of Black Wall Street. Link below to listen. 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s3-e8-pioneering-black-durham-success-sacrifice-and/id1497778162?i=1000552976489

Top left: John Merrick. Born into slavery, Merrick was a businessman and pioneer of Durham's , located in the historic Hayti district of , NC. In 1898 Merrick helped found what became North Carolina Mutual Life insurance company - the largest Black US business at the time.

Bottom left: Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore. As Durham, NC's 1st Black physician, Moore was also a pioneer of Black Durham. Along with John Merrick, Dr. Moore cofounded what became North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. Dr. Moore maintained his medical practice and founded Lincoln Hospital in 1901 and the Durham Colored Library in 1913. Dr. Moore was heavily involved in the rural education movement for Black children.

Top Right: Constance Eileen Watts Welch. Eileen is a descendant of both John Merrick and Dr. Aaron Moore. She was born in Durham to Dr. Charles DeWitt Watts, NC’s first African American surgeon, and Lyda Constance Merrick Watts, a community volunteer. Welch earned her B.A. from Spelman and worked in a number of roles over the years before earning her M.B.A. in public relations, management, and marketing. After a long career in Virginia, Welch returned to NC in 1996, as Associate Dean of External Affairs at Duke University's School of Nursing. In 2005, Welch was named Executive Director for Advancement at the Center for Child and Family Health.

Bottom left: like his sister, Charles D. Watts Jr., is a descendant of John Merrick and Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore. Chuck currently serves as the Greensboro City Attorney. With over 30 yrs of legal experience in private/public sectors, Watts served as the Deputy Secretary and General Counsel for the NC Department of Transportation prior to his current role. He also worked at The Banks Law Firm, Charles D. Watts Attorney at Law, NC Mutual Life Insurance Company, and as an assistant professor of law at Vanderbilt Univ. Watts received his B.A. in Economics from UNC Chapel Hill, his M.B.A. from Indiana Univ. and his law degree from Howard.

‎Show Dreams of Black Wall Street, Ep S3 E8 Pioneering Black Durham: Success, Sacrifice and Setbacks - Mar 4, 2022

14/02/2022

🚨 🚨

Absent from many conversations about Durham’s Black Wall Street is the fact that, other than the historic and prosperous Hayti neighborhood (where Black Wall Street was located), there were other African Americans districts in Durham. Most people who lived here were not well-off similar to the the Black elite or middle class in the historic Hayti neighborhood.

Many African Americans and people of color in Durham were poor or working class and struggled to make ends meet. Class distinctions between the wealthy or well-off, the poor, and everyone in between in Black Durham, mirrored those of White Durham. Additionally, while racism was a burden for all people of color, class distinctions often determined the degree to which that burden impacted the daily lives of Blacks in Durham.

09/02/2022

Madam C.J. Walker's descendants are continuing her ancestor's legacy with the launch of a new beauty and haircare line.

09/02/2022

Thank you for supporting Dreams of Black Wall Street. We did this! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

‎History · 2022

31/01/2022

not only did Durham, NC also have a Black Wall Street, but Black Durham’s success did not end there? Durham’s Black Wall Street was located in the historic HAYTI community. Legend has it that Hayti was named after the independent Black nation of Haiti. The neighborhood was the principal residential district for most of Durham’s Black middle class residents and the center Black Durham’s business, educational, cultural, and religious life.

Hayti was a model for other African American communities across the nation and an example of what was possible. The Hayti community and Durham flourished in the Jim Crow South and largely managed to avoid the sort of aggression, and terror that was common for Blacks at the time.

Hit the link below to earn more in S3 E6 of Dreams of Black Wall Street: Durham's Black Wall Street Part 2.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s3-e6-durhams-black-wall-street-part-2/id1497778162?i=1000549224726

‎Show Dreams of Black Wall Street, Ep S3 E6 Durham's Black Wall Street Part 2 - Jan 27, 2022

15/01/2022

‎Show Dreams of Black Wall Street, Ep S3 E5 Durham's Black Wall Street Part 1 - Jan 12, 2022

13/01/2022

that Durham, NC had a Black Wall Street? Learn more about it on the latest episode of Dreams of Black Wall Street. Hit the link below to 👂🏽👂🏽. 👇🏽👇🏽

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s3-e5-durhams-black-wall-street-part-1/id1497778162?i=1000547687008

‎Show Dreams of Black Wall Street, Ep S3 E5 Durham's Black Wall Street Part 1 - Jan 12, 2022