Get a Look at Some Archival Gems With a New Center for Brooklyn History Online Program Series

It was 125 years ago that the Brooklyn Public Library first started serving patrons, and in celebration of the major milestone, the Center for Brooklyn History is launching a new series of programs that will dig deep into their extensive collection and reflect the borough’s history.

The virtual “Out of the Box” series brings together experts, staff and eyewitnesses to history to share the stories behind the objects. Five programs are on the calendar between March and May. Each is free, with online registration required.

Out of the Box: Brooklyn in 1896
Thursday March 17, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Historians Thomas Campanella, author of Brooklyn: The Once and Future City, and Prithi Kanakamedala, Curator of In Pursuit of Freedom, join CBH librarian Michelle Montalbano for a look at what Brooklyn would have been like in 1896.

Out of the Box: Pete Hamill’s Papers
Thursday March 31, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Born in Brooklyn in 1935, the editor and columnist’s papers include correspondence, storyboards and handwritten notes from his noteworthy career. Hamill’s brother Denis Hamill and editor William Philips will explore the collection along with CBH archivist Sarah Quick.

Out of the Box: The Emergence and Future of Community-Based Development Movements
Monday April 4, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
In 1965 Ron Shiffman, in partnership with the Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council and Senator Robert F. Kennedy collaborated on the brainstorming and launching of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, the first community development corporation in the U.S. New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman will moderate a discussion.

Out of the Box: The Brooklyn Dodgers
Wednesday April 20, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Authors Peter Golenbock, William Rhoden and Joe Dorinson dip into the vast Dodger collection of the yearbooks, photos and memorabilia to share tales of Jackie Robinson and the team’s heyday in Brooklyn.

Out of the Box: Brooklyn’s March Towards Civil Rights
Wednesday May 4, 6:30 – 7:30 pm

The CBH includes a wealth of material on the Civil Rights movement, and one of the the significant stories that can be gleaned from the archival materials is that of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in Brooklyn in the 1960s. Author Brian Purnell and others will take a look at the materials that illustrate the group’s work to fight for equality.

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