Museum Mile—which runs along Fifth Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side—is home to a number of institutions tasked with preserving history, from the Met and the Guggenheim to the Jewish Museum. But across the greenery, from 82nd Street to 89th Street along Central Park West, lies a more hidden story regarding the once-thriving Seneca Village.
The postcolonial community of free African-American families, schools, churches, and businesses existed between 1825 and 1853, yet by 1857, the residential area was destroyed due to the use of eminent domain by the State of New York in order to become part of what’s now known as Central Park. During this period of mass displacement, the narrative, climate, and society was also heavily permeated by racism.
Intent on shining a spotlight on the legacy of Seneca Village while seeking to course-correct its erasure, the Central Park Conservancy hosted a commemorative dinner on Thursday evening timed to the celebration of Juneteenth, the federal holiday that commemorates when Union troops announced the end of slavery in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865.
Held at Summit Rock (the park’s highest elevation point), the event took place atop an expansive stony overlook—once regarded as a prominent village landmark—surrounded by old American elm trees, red oaks, tulips, and ferns. Guests including Rachel Scott, Nichol King, State Senator Cordell Cleare, Teneshia Carr, and Shiona Turini joined activist and cultural heritage consultant Peggy King Jorde, stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, and landscape architect Sara Zewde, who acted as the evening’s co-hosts.
Attendees made their way along the winding path leading up to the open-air space, where the area was outfitted with a white linen-lined dining table adorned with mini sunflower arrangements and gilded lamps. A well-stocked beverage station manned by the Polo Bar’s head mixologist, Anthony Bates, was serving up custom cocktails. “They’re inspired by the history of Seneca Village,” Bates explained as he provided generous pours of the Epiphany’s Fashion (made with the Black-owned Edmond’s Honor Bourbon), the Club Seneca Gin, and a Dark N’ Stormy non-alcoholic sarsaparilla root spritzer.
During cocktail hour, a spoken word monologue and dance recital were performed by DeWitt Fleming Jr., accompanied by trumpeter Michael Cruse. Historian Cynthia Copeland, along with the Conservancy’s director of public history, Jessica MacLean, gave remarks regarding the organization’s advocacy and commitment to change. Taking it all in, Karefa-Johnson said, “Tonight’s commemoration is a reminder of why it’s important for Black people to take up as much space as possible.”
King Jorde also gave an inspiring call to action for attendees: “What once was a village has now become a view,” she stated. “What happened here is not a metaphor, and having a dinner on top of a neighborhood is a revolutionary act of remembering.”
Vintage chinaware, glass carafes, and porcelain decanters—reflective of items that some of the villagers owned and lost in displacement—were placed along the table, where a three-course meal of green market salad, striped bass, and free-range bird was served by Bronx-born culinary collective Ghetto Gastro and their zero-waste restaurant Gourmega.
