In the Tenement Museum’s newest neighborhood walking tour, Reclaiming Black Spaces, we’ll highlight stories of how Black and African Americans shaped Lower Manhattan as they made homes, businesses, and communities there over the centuries. What drew Black New Yorkers to Lower Manhattan, and how were their experiences shaped by that migration? How did those communities create a sense of home, and how did they resist the racism they faced? From the story of Sebastiaen de Britto, one of the first Black residents of the area in the 1640s, to Studio We, a musician’s collective in the 1970s, we’ll look through windows into the past that expand the history of today’s Lower East Side. 

Reclaiming Black Spaces launches on June 12, 2021 – tickets available soon!

Not in the neighborhood? You can take Reclaiming Black Spaces as a virtual tour!