Response 5/5
The Brooklyn Historical Society on 128 Pierrepont street is a lovely sight and the exhibitions were wonderful. It’s exhibits describes the history of Brooklyn through exhibits such as Jackie Robinson’s Legacy, Women’s abolition, and even an exhibit on The Emancipation Proclamation. The Brooklyn Historical Society includes a complete library of Brooklyn history. The library is beautiful and dimly lit, making it a very intriguing place. It is not often that I feel an environment inspires work in me, but I felt that I should be reading and studying in this library. While I did not read a book, the topics covered were extensive, ranging from historical accounts, to books specifically detailing events in Brooklyn from 150 years ago. Everything inside of the museum is presented in an educational way which helped in learning it. The exhibits have a lot of information but are supplemented with physical artifacts as well, which make it not as overwhelming. Being inside the museum made me feel as if I was right at home, also known as the Brooklyn College Library reading room. It is small for a museum, but I enjoyed this aspect of it. Normally, a huge museum is very physically exhausting and mentally, but this one was small and concise for the casual goer, but had enough information to keep a scholar busy for years. There was a discussion that I attended focused on activism and how it relates to sports. I stayed for a short amount of time but it fascinated me because it talked about sports within the context of brooklyn, which I really enjoyed.
One of the exhibitions that I was intrigued by would be the Jackie Robinson exhibit. He was able to break the exclusion of color from baseball, which was America’s most popular sport at the time. This exhibit was able to tell the story of Jackie Robinson and his impact within the larger context of racial struggles in America and the city. It had many artifacts of his, including baseball equipment. It was personal and holistic, not focusing one one aspect of Robinson’s career.
This museum relates significantly to our class because its focus is on Brooklyn and its history. Brooklyn has a very large amount of immigrants and ethnic enclaves, second to only Queens. Places like Brighton Beach, Greenpoint, Canarsie, Bayridge, and Williamsburg are filled with Immigrants from all over the world. This museum did not necessarily focus on immigration, but It did provide a lot of context, on for example, Brooklyn’s ideal location for immigrants. It also detailed immigrants role in the formation of what is modern day NYC and Brooklyn. Jackie Robinson’s exhibit is one that detailed the racial struggles which engulfed America, which were also felt to a lesser extent by European immigrant groups, especially initially upon their arrival. I really enjoyed this museum and I plan on visiting the Dumbo location soon as well, which is very surprising because I will not need it for a class requirement. P.S. Thank you for the wonderful semester!!!
