Past Public Programs

Many CBH Talks were recorded. To view, visit the Center for Brooklyn History Talks YouTube channel at bklynlib.org/CBH-Talks.

Past Events

CBH Talk | Martha Jones and Nikole Hannah-Jones Discuss “The Trouble of Color”

Wed, Mar 19 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History

Prize-winning historian Martha Jones has authored books about slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, women’s suffrage, Jim Crow, and the modern Civil Rights Movement. But her newest work, The Trouble of Color: An American Family Memoir, is altogether different. A deeply personal…

CBH Talk | What to Save? Landmarks for a New New York

Mon, Mar 17 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History conversations

Sixty years ago New York City passed the NYC Landmarks Law, designed to protect the city’s historic and architectural heritage. Today the Landmarks Preservation Commission ensures the future of more than 38,000 buildings in five boroughs, along with scenic landmarks like Prospect Park…

CBH Talk | Collecting + Care: Exploring the BLK MKT Vintage Vault

Wed, Mar 12 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks book discussion BPL Presents

 The awe. The wonder. The quest. The adventure.~ Jannah and Kiyanna Handy, BLK MKT Vintage: Reclaiming Objects and Curiosities That Tell Black Stories

 

Jannah and Kiyanna Handy, owners of BLK MKT Vintage and authors of BLK MKT Vintage: Reclaiming Objects and…

CBH Talk | Green Gentrification and the Future of the BQE

Tue, Mar 11 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History conversations

This program is offered in partnership with the Institute for Public Architecture and the Brooklyn Heights Association.

 

When Robert Moses built the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE), he demolished historic neighborhoods, disrupted thriving communities, and displaced…

Just Conversations | Voices from New York State’s Reparations Commission

Wed, Feb 19 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

anti-racism BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History

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.This program is the second…

CBH Talk | The Honorable Ed Towns in Conversation with Deputy Borough President Kim Council

Tue, Feb 18 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

Black History Month BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History

For five decades former Congressman Ed Towns stood at the center of Brooklyn change as the first African American Deputy Borough president (1976 - 1982) and U.S. Representative for New York’s 10th congressional district (1983 - 2013). Representing historically Black neighborhoods…

CBH Talk | Judith Giesberg Discusses “Last Seen: The Enduring Search by Formerly Enslaved People to Find Their Lost Families”

Thu, Feb 13 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks Black History Month BPL Presents

Join historian Judith Giesberg for a discussion of her groundbreaking book, Last Seen: The Enduring Search by Formerly Enslaved People to Find Their Lost Families, which brings to light the resilient efforts of formerly enslaved people to reunite with family members torn apart by…

Kiss & Paste: A Valentine Collaging Party

Tue, Feb 11 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

arts and crafts BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History

Are you cut out for love? Then get ready to create Valentines with vintage vibes! 

We’ve curated a romantic selection of images from the CBH collection to help you bring your vision to life. Whether your masterpiece is for a crush, a bestie, or just for fun, join…

CBH Talk | Joining the Clubs: Inside the Ethnic Power Centers of 1960s Brooklyn Politics

Thu, Feb 6 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History conversations

In 1960s and 70s Brooklyn, the borough's political clubs were the temples of political power. Decisions made in those halls reshaped the borough’s political structures in ways that cleaved along racial and ethnic lines, specifically Irish, Jewish, and Black. Perceived threats became…

New York City History Day Virtual Drop-in Office Hour

Fri, Jan 31 3:00pm
Center for Brooklyn History

Center for Brooklyn History educators NYC History Day

Virtual drop-in to talk to the New York City History Day Coordinator about your History Day project. Get one-on-one help with registration, brainstorming, research, and more! Open to all students and teachers. Zoom link will be sent on the day of the office hour to those who've registered.

CBH’s Brooklyn Trivia Showdown

Wed, Jan 29 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History

Think you know Brooklyn history? Well, it’s time to put that to the test at CBH’s Brooklyn Trivia Showdown! From the rise of the Brooklyn Bridge to the rise of Brooklyn pizza, we’ve got the iconic moments, quirky facts, and bizarre tidbits that make this borough the cultural…

A Symposium: The Value of Debate

Wed, Jan 22 5:00pm
Center for Brooklyn History

adult learning Center for Brooklyn History Civic Engagement

In these troubling times of people shouting down one another and turning a closed mind to one another's beliefs, it is important to discover the value of debate in a democracy.

Join us…