Mama Joy’s Brooklyn Abolitionist Walk

Follow the footprints of Brooklyn’s forgotten abolitionist. We’ll be tracing the history of Brooklyn’s spirit of liberation, from the first Free Black communities of the 1800s to the Black suffragists, to hip-hop and beyond. Our focus is 227 Duffield Street, which NYC wanted to destroy in the name of “progress.” Its owner Mama Joy Chatel stopped the plan by showing it was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Her daughter Shawné Lee leads the tour with a deeply personal story of the impact of urban renewal. Public historian Raul Rothblatt uncovers the stories of heroes, including journalist & suffragist Ida B. Wells. Learn why she moved there and why it was central to our Civil Rights history. Once you hear these stories, the neighborhood will never look the same.