We began our oral history project in 2006 to collect important audio documents: primary sources about people, ideas, and events that make up the history of 21st century Brooklyn.
CURRENT EXHIBITS:
We are excited to announce the opening of our Oral History Gallery December 14th, 2007, with In Our Own Words: Portraits of Brooklyn’s Vietnam Veterans. Striking life-sized photographic portraits and hypersonic sound combine to vividly relay the memories and experiences of nine local veterans who served in the Vietnam War.
Beginning in January, through the run of the exhibition (December 31, 2008), BHS will host a variety of programs including poetry readings, film series, and panel discussions including: The Impact of Listening and Being Heard with curator and oral historian Philip Napoli; Vietnam: Lessons Learned and Forgotten with historian Marilyn Young; The Shape of Public and Private Memory with oral historian Michael Frisch; The Political Power of Music; and Grassroots Activism Then and Now.
We are pleased to host a twice-monthly Oral History Open House where interviewers will be ready to collect your memories of the Vietnam Era. All of the interviews will be archived in the BHS collection. Please Email us to schedule an interview.
An integral part of Brooklyn’s economic and social fabric for 155 years, Independence Community Bank contributed significantly to Brooklyn through its support of homeownership, local business, neighborhood improvement, cultural institutions and the establishment of the Independence Community Foundation.
Sixteen extended interviews were conducted with past and present employees of the Bank 2006 – 2007 and are archived in a uniquely searchable audio database created in collaboration with RandForce Associates.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, the oldest community development corporation (CDC) in the United States, founded in 1967 through the efforts of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Jacob Javits. Founding Board members, supporters, activists, artists, tenants, and other community members are being interviewed to document Restoration’s pioneering work.
Founded in Brooklyn in 1849, Pfizer is now one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. Past and current employees of the Brooklyn plant –where mass production of penicillin was first discovered- are being interviewed on the occasion of the closing of this historic manufacturing plant.
In partnership with local author Jennifer Egan, and the newly established Brooklyn Navy Yard Historic Center, BHS is helping to capture the stories of women who filled trade positions at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War II as well as other people who worked at the Yard during that time.
We plan to digitize our older oral history collections, which were recorded on cassette tape, in order to make them more accessible:
PUERTO RICAN Oral History Project (1974 – 1976)
BROOKLYN BUSINESS (Coney Island and Navy Yard 1974 - 1989)
BROWNSVILLE/WEEKSVILLE Oral History Project (1974 – 1989)
GIGLIO Oral History Project (1981 – 1983)
HISPANIC Oral History Project (1989)
CHINATOWN / 8TH AVENUE / SUNSET PARK Oral History Project
BROOKLYN AT WORK (circa 1990s)
AIDS BROOKLYN (circa 1990s)
CROWN HEIGHTS Oral History Project (circa 1990s)
BROOKLYN FIREFIGHTERS (1994)
In the years ahead, we will explore the voices of workers, artists, bankers, developers, politicians, religious leaders, war veterans, writers, and educators. We will capture the voices of Brooklyn's elders, as well as our youthful visionaries.
These resources will be available so that scholars and students of the future will be better able to reflect upon the past and better understand its impact on the future.
To share your story, please contact Sady Sullivan.
Our Oral History Program continues to grow in exciting new directions thanks to the generous support of The Nathan Cummings Foundation, Independence Community Foundation, Alan Fishman, The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp, Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, HBO, American Technology, and Tekserve.
