Weeksville was a nineteenth century free black community located in what is now the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, New York.  It is remembered today as a historic site for its community programs, urban employment opportunities, and the promotion of racial respectability. In 1838, only 11 years after slavery ended in New York, Weeksville was formed by a free black man named James Weeks when he purchased a substantial area of land from Henry C. Thompson, another free black man. Weeks then encouraged other blacks to settle on the property as he sold lots to the newcomers who named the community Weeksville. Weeksville quickly became a self-sufficient and thriving free black community.   It also became a refuge for southern blacks fleeing slavery and for northern blacks who desired to escape racial violence and draft riots in New York and other cities. By 1850, it was the second largest community for free blacks in pre-Civil War America. The community was known for employing blacks in urban occupations and it was a community where black doctors, professionals, and entrepreneurs were able to practice skills and develop clientele. Weeksville residents established churches, schools, benevolent associations, an elderly home, and had an orphanage by the … Continue reading Weeksville, New York (1838- )