The East Bronx History Forum (EBHF) will host a lecture by educator and art historian John Keith Doherty on Thursday, April 24, exploring Black land ownership in the Bronx during the 1800s. The event, which is the group’s 194th meeting, begins at 7:30 p.m. and will take place in the lower level of St. Clare of Assisi Church, located at 1027 Rhinelander Ave.
Doherty will discuss several properties in the Bronx that were owned by free Black individuals during and after New York’s Gradual Emancipation period (1799–1827), when slavery was beginning to be phased out. Many of these historically significant farms and homes remain largely undocumented.
The talk is meant to shed light on this chapter of history in the Bronx. Many Black individuals who were slaves in their youth rose to own property, with some also emerging as successful businesspeople.
At the time, land ownership was very important because the state constitution post 1821 granted Black men the right to vote on the condition they owned a property worth at least $250. Consequently, acquiring suffrage was contingent upon acquiring land.
White men, post 1821, who didn’t own land were able to vote, although they had to meet strict requirements. Prior to 1821, they too had to be landowners.
Doherty earned his doctorate and taught for 14 years as a Professor of Art History at Boston University. Since 2012, he has been primarily researching the earliest architectural and social history of New York. Doherty is also an educator at the Philipse Manor Hall in Yonkers, the curator of an exhibit on the Old Croton Aqueduct and leads historic tours of various parts of Manhattan.
Entry for the lecture is free and can be found on Paulding Avenue, in Msgr. Joseph Raimondo Hall. Parking for the meeting is free and located north of the Paulding Avenue entrance.
