Many CBH Talks were recorded. To view, visit the Center for Brooklyn History Talks YouTube channel at bklynlib.org/CBH-Talks.
Past Events
Brooklyn Is... Exhibition Tour
Come for a free guided tour of the exhibition Brooklyn Is...!
Visitors will get an interactive look at the photographs, maps, and community reflections that make up the heart of this exhibition, as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process of putting together this exhibition…
Pride Month, Music and a Movie!
CBH celebrates Pride Month and Brooklyn with this cabaret-style performance and screening!Join the incomparable Brooklyn-based drag artist Ella Fartzgerald, followed by the 2014 documentary “We Came to Sweat: The Legend of Starlite” for an…
CBH Talk | Voices of Venezuela: Art, Politics, and Survival in the Heart of Crisis
Once a beacon of prosperity in South America, Venezuela's rich tapestry has dramatically shifted. Today, it faces one of the largest displacement crises in the world. Join us for a compelling evening as we delve into the stories behind over 7 million Venezuelans who have left their…
Brooklyn Zine-In: Make Zines, Make History
Whatcha mean, What's a ZINE? A zine is a self-created and self-published work. Typically made using Do-It-Yourself methods of collage, drawing, stamping, and using found materials. Zines can be about anything and can be made by anyone!
Join us in partnership with Booklyn, Inc. for a…
Brooklyn Is... Exhibition Tour
Come for a free guided tour of the exhibition Brooklyn Is...!
Visitors will get an interactive look at the photographs, maps, and community reflections that make up the heart of this exhibition, as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process of putting together this exhibition…
CBH Talk | Frank Barry and Morgan Pehme Discuss “Back Roads and Better Angels.” Special Musical Guest Xavier Cardriche.
In his new book, Back Roads and Better Angels: A Journey into the Heart of American Democracy, Frank Barry gives a captivating, unvarnished, and deeply thoughtful account of his road trip across America, sharing his on the ground, first hand observations about the tensions that pull…
CBH Talk | Transforming Cancer Survival for All: A Conversation with Bruce Ratner and Errol Louis
Despite tens of billions of dollars spent on research and treatment, cancer remains the number two killer in the United States. Not surprisingly, it’s people of color, along with poor and rural patients, who die from this disease the most.
In his book, Early Detection…
Meet Up: NYC Neighborhood Oral History Projects Summer Social
Doing a local history project in New York City? This event, co-hosted by the Oral History Association, Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region, the Queens Memory Project, and Columbia University's Oral History MA program, provides the space for you to come meet people from other neighborhood…
Brooklyn Is... Exhibition Tour
Come for a free guided tour of the exhibition Brooklyn Is...!
Visitors will get an interactive look at the photographs, maps, and community reflections that make up the heart of this exhibition, as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process of putting together this exhibition…
CBH Talk | Voices from New Netherlands: Unsealing the Vrooman Letters
The Dutch scholar Frans R.E. Blom had an experience that every historian dreams of. He was the first to open and read sealed documents of historic significance that were centuries old – in his case letters written by Dutch migrants newly settled in the colony of New Netherlands. The…
Just Conversations | Making NYC Home: The Trials and Triumphs of Asylum Seekers and Migrants
About Just ConversationsJust Conversations is a series co-presented by the Center for Brooklyn History and Brooklyn Org that brings into dialogue issues facing our borough, city, and society and gives voice to the change makers who move us towards a more equitable future. Tonight we are joined by…
Brooklyn Is... Exhibition Tour
Come for a free guided tour of the exhibition Brooklyn Is...!
Visitors will get an interactive look at the photographs, maps, and community reflections that make up the heart of this exhibition, as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process of putting together this exhibition…
Mapping Memory: The Legacy of Slavery, Abolition, and Freedom in Brooklyn
In Brooklyn, the history of slavery, abolition, and freedom is all around us: not just in museums and historic houses, but in the names of our streets and even the soil beneath our feet. In this professional development workshop, educators are invited to uncover the (sometimes buried) history of…
CBH Talk | The Brownstone Boys and "For the Love of Renovating"
In 2018, Barry Bordelon and Jordan Slocum bought a 130 year-old Brooklyn brownstone and blogged about the trials and triumphs of renovation under the byline “the Brownstone Boys.” The upshot was a devoted following of fellow renovators, a thriving restoration business, and now – a book!…
Brooklyn Is... Exhibition Tour
Come for a free guided tour of the exhibition Brooklyn Is...!
Visitors will get an interactive look at the photographs, maps, and community reflections that make up the heart of this exhibition, as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process of putting together this exhibition…
Brooklyn Is... Exhibition Tour
Come for a free guided tour of the exhibition Brooklyn Is...!
Visitors will get an interactive look at the photographs, maps, and community reflections that make up the heart of this exhibition, as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process of putting together this exhibition…
CBH Talk | Elizabeth Gloucester, The Most Powerful Black Woman Lost to History
Co-presented by the Center for Brooklyn History and The Brooklyn Heights Association
Elizabeth Gloucester, was born into slavery in 1817 in Richmond, Virginia. When she died in Brooklyn Heights six decades later, the Brooklyn Eagle described her as “the wealthiest colored…
CBH Talk | Natalie Foster and Tressie McMillan Cottom Discuss “The Guarantee”
The Guarantee asks us to imagine an America where housing, health care, a college education, dignified work, family care, an inheritance, and an income floor are not only attainable by all but guaranteed, by our government, for everyone.
But isn’t this pie-in-the-sky…
I See My Light Shining: Baldwin-Emerson Elders Project Launch
Join the Emerson Collective and Columbia University in-person at the Center for Brooklyn History for the launch event of "I See My Light Shining: The Baldwin-Emerson Elders Project." This event is hosted by the Baldwin-Emerson Elders Project and will feature a collection of oral testimonies…
Brooklyn Is... Exhibition Tour
Come for a free guided tour of the exhibition Brooklyn Is...!
Visitors will get an interactive look at the photographs, maps, and community reflections that make up the heart of this exhibition, as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process of putting together this exhibition…
CBH Talk | Severe Mental Illness: Our Collective Response and Responsibility
Jonathan Rosen’s acclaimed book, The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions, has helped move the needle on our understanding of severe mental illness and the ways that society -- at the governmental, medical, and individual levels -- has failed…
CBH Talk | Blackface Minstrelsy and the Racial Foundation of American Musical Culture
In his new book, Blacksound: Making Race and Popular Music in the United States, musicologist Matthew Morrison unpacks the political legacy of blackface minstrelsy, showing not only how blackness was commodified by white people as popular entertainment during the nineteenth century,…
Brooklyn Is... Exhibition Tour
Come for a free guided tour of the exhibition Brooklyn Is...!
Visitors will get an interactive look at the photographs, maps, and community reflections that make up the heart of this exhibition, as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process of putting together this exhibition…
Brooklyn Is... Exhibition Tour
Come for a free guided tour of the exhibition Brooklyn Is...!
Visitors will get an interactive look at the photographs, maps, and community reflections that make up the heart of this exhibition, as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process of putting together this exhibition…
CBH Talk | Ari Berman and Chris Hayes Discuss “Minority Rule”
As the United States moves steadily towards a majority-minority future, time and time again the white conservative minority has effectively pushed back representative democracy through voter suppression, election subversion, legislative power grabs, immigration restrictions,…
Brooklyn Is... Exhibition Tour
Come for a free guided tour of the exhibition Brooklyn Is...!
Visitors will get an interactive look at the photographs, maps, and community reflections that make up the heart of this exhibition, as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process of putting together this exhibition…
CBH Talk | Exploring “The White Bonus” with Tracie McMillan and Darrick Hamilton
White Bonus is the money white people receive or save when racism works in their favor. In her new book, The White Bonus: Five Families and the Cash Value of Racism in America, Tracie McMillan asks a pressing question: If racism denies people of color so much, just how much does it…
Celebrating Brooklyn Poets, Past and Present
Dip into the Center for Brooklyn History’s collection and you will find a vast range of poetry. There are works by household names like Walt Whitman, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Marianne Moore, as well as hundreds, perhaps thousands, of poems by writers whose works live in the nooks and…
University Open Air: In Search of Lyricism
In lyric works, emotions are expressed through imagery, musicality, rhythm. Hence, reading and watching lyric works is a highly enjoyable experience. Yet, as the mermaids’ song, lyricism can draw us in to better drown us in what we’d turn away from: pain, grief, injustice, or our daily life.…
University Open Air: Creative Calligraphy & Ink Wash Workshop
Traditional Chinese is the written script used in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. In this interactive workshop, we will practice, write and discuss select characters in ink. Then, channel your creativity by integrating calligraphy into personalized ink wash paintings. Choose themes inspired by…
University Open Air: Conferencia: Mapa Sonoro de la Música Salsa en Nueva York. En Español
La lectura se realizará en español como un homenaje a todxs lxs inmigrantes afrocaribeñxs que llegaron a Nueva York en los años cuarenta y que, con su cultura y nostalgia por su tierra, crearon la música Salsa. Los participantes en esta conferencia recibirán el magazín Sursystem 08 en español, y…
University Open Air: Healing: Ancient Tibetan Chod Healing Cleansing Negativities and Restoring Positivities
Chöd means “to cut.” Suffering that we human experience arises mainly through grasping at self and self-cherishing attitude. Cutting through this self-grasping and self-cherishing attitude is the main goal of Chöd practice. Chöd…
University Open Air: Beauty and Ugliness in French and Francophone literature and the Arts
French society’s obsession with taste shows up in many areas. We will examine some laudatory and critical devices used in some emblematic works to present the concept of beauty and ugliness, starting from XVII century literature and visual arts to arrive in modern times. Works from Madame de…
University Open Air: Chinese Tea Ceremony
Chinese Tea Ceremony has rich history and different forms. Depending on the regions, we have various types of ceremonies. In today's ceremony, I will perform one of the authentic ways, to show you the beauty of it. Let's enjoy the ceremony; watch the tea leaves blooming; smell and taste good…
University Open Air: Transform Your Life in one Week with Mystic Breathing, Meditation, and Healing Yogas
In this session, we will teach the body posture and four characteristics of mystic breathing first. Then we will learn to feel the mystic breathing. Then we will learn to feel the subtle sensations in our body…
University Open Air: Sound Map of Salsa Music in New York. In English
In this lecture, you will explore the origins of salsa music in the South Bronx through its sound and its connection to the territory. You will discover the people who created the new genre from the traditional Latin music brought to NYC by the Caribbean immigrants who settled in the Bronx from…
University Open Air: Unlocking Subconscious Potential: Empowering Emotional Wellness and Stress Management
In this dynamic session, you will explore the transformative power of your subconscious mind. Gain insights into fostering emotional resilience, managing stress, and unlocking your inner potential for greater well-being in just one empowering lecture.
University Open Air: AI for Everyone
The headlines are filled with news about Artificial Intelligence (AI), making it difficult to separate hype from reality. AI presents many opportunities as well as challenges for our communities. It can help us solve complex problems, but it can also displace jobs and harm our civil rights if…
University Open Air: Mind Training: How to Deal with Destructive Emotions. Tibetan Buddhist Psychology and Methods
Students will learn some simple and effective methods on how to deal with negative emotions, particularly useful for when we are overwhelmed by those feelings.
…
University Open Air: Tibetan Yoga: The Five Movements for Balancing the Five Elements in our Bodies
Learn five standing yoga movements that release tensions and blockages in our gross body and subtle energy channels. Physical movement, breath, and awareness are coordinated to harmonize our body, energy, and mind. These five movements especially open…
Brooklyn Is... Exhibition Tour
Come for a free guided tour of the exhibition Brooklyn Is...!
Visitors will get an interactive look at the photographs, maps, and community reflections that make up the heart of this exhibition, as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process of putting together this exhibition…
University Open Air: Making Music from our Surroundings
How can we make music drawing inspiration from our daily lives? Can we translate into sound what we observe in, for instance, a tarot card or a painting? What lies behind notes and rhythm? In the past few decades, musicians have been exploring alternative ways to compose and perform…
University Open Air: Healing: Meditation on the Three-Syllable Mantra. A Simple Method of Healing Oneself and Others
The power of mantra is beyond our imagination, so is visualization. The combination of mantra recitation and visualization is more powerful. For centuries the three-syllable mantra meditation practice has been one of the key practices…
University Open Air: What’s in the day to day?
*This is a two-part class--participants are welcome to attend either or both.
Part one is a conversation seen through the work of female artists and writers about all that surrounds us on our day to day. We’ll talk about our approach to the expected and predictable; our home, our work,…
University Open Air: Yoga Training: Seven Pranayamas for Optimum Physical and Mental Wellbeing
We will explore the intricacies of pranayama (breathing technique), including breathing mechanisms, natural breathing patterns, and some profound benefits of these ancient practices. You will learn about body posture and experience the…
Inspired by Brooklyn | Music and a Movie
Singer-songwriter Tsebiyah Mishael Derry performs, followed by a screening of the 1980 film Brighton Beach, introduced by filmmaker Susan Wittenberg.About "Inspired by Brooklyn"
The Brooklyn vibe is in the room at this cabaret-style series presented in connection with CBH’s…
Brooklyn Is... Exhibition Tour
Come for a free guided tour of the exhibition Brooklyn Is...!
Visitors will get an interactive look at the photographs, maps, and community reflections that make up the heart of this exhibition, as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process of putting together this exhibition…
Just Conversations: Medical Racism, An Issue of Life and Death
About Just ConversationsJust Conversations is a series co-presented by the Center for Brooklyn History and Brooklyn Org that brings into dialogue injustices in our borough, city, and society and gives voice to the change makers who move us towards a more equitable future. First up: Medical Racism.…
CBH Talk | Could It Happen Here? America's Illiberal History, Fascism, and the Thin Line Between Them
To view a livestream of this program, please go to this link.Throughout America’s history an illiberal strain of political thought has existed within our democratic society, argues Pulitzer-Prize winning historian Steven Hahn in his new book Illiberal America. We see it today in White…
Brooklyn Is... Exhibition Tour
Come for a free guided tour of the exhibition Brooklyn Is...!
Visitors will get an interactive look at the photographs, maps, and community reflections that make up the heart of this exhibition, as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process of putting together this exhibition…
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