ReImagine Lefferts Community Conversation

Prospect Park Alliance presents a Community Conversation as part of ReImagine Lefferts, an initiative to re-envision the mission and programming of this historic house museum to recognize the role the house played as a site of dispossession and enslavement, and explore the stories of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking whose unceded ancestral lands the house rests upon and the Africans who were enslaved by the Lefferts family. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation recently awarded a prestigious $275,000 Humanities in Place grant to the Alliance, which is making this work possible.

Lefferts Historic House is an 18th-century Flatbush farmhouse and New York City landmark, jointly operated by Prospect Park Alliance and the Historic House Trust. The farmhouse was originally located just blocks from the park (563 Flatbush Avenue near Maple Street) and moved in 1917 to its current site in the park’s Children’s Corner, home of the Prospect Park Zoo and park Carousel. The museum features period rooms, indoor and outdoor exhibits, historic artifacts, historical object reproductions and working farm plots. Through hands-on experiences, cultural performances, and imaginative play, visitors learn about the rich history of Brooklyn and also gather together to celebrate the diversity of our community today.

In this Community Conversation, new research will be shared with attendees about the Indigenous history and legacy of African enslavement at the site and surrounding areas for feedback and guidance about how best to commemorate and communicate this important history. The event includes presentations, creative workshops, and discussions about how the museum can honor centuries of resilience and resistance of Indigenous and enslaved peoples in what became Brooklyn.

This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are required: www.prospectpark.org/reimagine-lefferts-conversation

Learn more about the ReImagine Lefferts Initiative at www.prospectpark.org/reimagine-lefferts.