Weeksville holds first Kwanzaa celebration in 45 years
In commemoration of pan-African heritage and the history of African American roots in Brooklyn, Weeksville Heritage Center held its first Kwanzaa celebration since 1974 on Saturday — six months after it was set to be designated a city cultural institution.
Weeksville Heritage Center in Crown Heights is Brooklyn’s largest African American cultural institution. It operates as a live museum, preserving the history of the people that settled there in the 19th century: one of the country’s many free black communities.
In July 2019, the center was in danger of closing due to a budget shortfall, but it surpassed a $200,000 crowd-funding goal and is now set to be designated as the newest member of the city’s Cultural Institutions Group. It will be the first new addition in more than 20 years and the first black cultural center in Brooklyn to make the list.