What happens when a one-of-a-kind experiment in Black freedom making collides with urban development in New York City?
In Seneca Village, Alexander Manevitz showcases the ideas of freedom that underpinned this remarkable community, built in upper Manhattan with the intent to foster Black social, economic, and political self-determination. Between 1825 and 1853, free African Americans bought land and built an innovative settlement. Then, through the 1850s, New York City forcibly evicted the residents, seized the land, and destroyed the buildings, burying this thriving neighborhood under the landscape of the new Central Park.
In this most in-depth investigation to date of Seneca Village, Manevitz reconstructs the essential history of the community from the overlooked traces they left behind, focusing on the interconnected lives of Seneca Villagers and the daily work of liberation. Decades before the Civil War and Reconstruction, they honed a vision of Black freedom on their own terms, fighting to create space for themselves in a country that promised liberty for all but denied it to many.
Order here!
In this most in-depth investigation to date of Seneca Village, Manevitz reconstructs the essential history of the community from the overlooked traces they left behind, focusing on the interconnected lives of Seneca Villagers and the daily work of liberation. Decades before the Civil War and Reconstruction, they honed a vision of Black freedom on their own terms, fighting to create space for themselves in a country that promised liberty for all but denied it to many.
Order here!
Advanced Praise
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"Alexander Manevitz expertly weaves together the history of a resilient nineteenth-century African American and immigrant community, the real estate market that simultaneously offered them hope and spelled their destruction, and the many meanings Seneca Village has for us today. A fantastic read for anyone interested in unearthing the history beneath Central Park."
Catherine McNeur, award-winning author of Mischievous Creatures |
"Alexander Manevitz's Seneca Village is an intensively researched history of a vibrant, unique, and oft-forgotten African American community in 19th-century New York City. With tremendous care for his subjects, Manevitz brings to life the determined and civic-minded men, women, and children who built homes, churches, and schools in what is now Central Park, reminding us that the villagers' dreams—and their devastating losses—still deserve our attention."
Sarah Gronningsater, author of The Rising Generation |
"To create Central Park, elite white New Yorkers sacrificed Black citizens' hard work, wealth and desires, and also deprived them of their rightful place in the city's historical memory. Manevitz pieces together the many lives of Seneca Village: his work honors and joins that of descendants, archaeologists, public and academic historians, and artists who have labored for decades to resurrect this important community."
Leslie Harris, author of Slavery and the University
Leslie Harris, author of Slavery and the University