‘Boss of Black Brooklyn’ tells of the struggles and successes of Brooklyn’s first elected black official
In November of 1948, Bertram L. Baker put his name on a page of Brooklyn history when he was elected to the New York State Assembly. Representing the growing Bedford-Stuyvesant, Baker became the first black person ever elected to office in Brooklyn, a place that now — 70 years later — has three dozen black elected officials, including members of Congress. In fact, Brooklyn has overtaken Harlem as the center of black political power and is synonymous with the black immigrant presence in New York City.
In “Boss of Black Brooklyn: The Life and Times of Bertram L. Baker,” journalist Ron Howell not only shares his grandfather’s impressive personal story, he also illuminates a fascinating era when West Indian families left their native islands, entered the U.S. through Ellis Island, and settled in Brooklyn.
In the earliest decades of the 20th century, the West Indians were the first in the black communities of New York City to gain positions of political power as elected officials and as the bosses of the city’s political parties. They were also successful in the black community as realtors, and they set paths not only in established political parties but as radical activists, forming organizations such as the African Blood Brotherhood.