Brooklyn Historical Soc. Exhibit Shows How "Brooklyn Works"

Exhibit features ordinary items found in an early African-American barber shop. Photos by Mike Hanke

By Casey Agyeman

It’s hard to imagine a farm in the middle of Flatbush Avenue nowadays. In the middle of the 19th century, however, farms flourished there and in many other sections of the borough.

It was on one of these farms that a boy by the name of John Jea, who had been kidnapped from his homeland in Nigeria, worked hard as a field hand.

The story of this young slave, and nearly 100 others, is being told as part of an exhibit entitled Brooklyn Works: 400 Years of Making a Living in Brooklyn currently featured at the Brooklyn Historical Society.

The exhibit explores Brooklyn’s growth and brings the people and places together as it showcases the actual words and stories of those who lived and worked here.

The stories preserve not only our tradition and historical legacy but also the folk history, which would otherwise be lost.

The diverse exhibit, showing the fabric of Brooklyn’s working history, includes some interviews with real people who tell real life experiences, as well as the writings of those experiences that may range in a time frame from centuries past to a mere decade ago.

Some of the stories include that of an African-American Firefighter, an Irish rope maker from 1830 and many more, including Walt Whitman. President of the Brooklyn Historical Society Jessie McClintock Kelly and her staff worked hard to bring this exhibition together. They collected unique artifacts and stories, which offered insight into what a great place Brooklyn is and how it became this way. One of the surprising facts is that this exhibit showcases products that originated in the borough, such as Brillo soap pads, Chock Full O’Nuts coffee, Chiclets chewing gum, Rheingold beer, Domino sugar and more.

The exhibition includes a feature on the Domino Sugar factory, which played a prominent role in the rich history of the borough. The 2003 closing of the factory, a Brooklyn fixture for 148 years, was the end of this long tradition of mainstream products that once symbolized Brooklyn’s manufacturing power.

One showcase is that of the ordinary things one might find in an African-American barbershop, such as a pair of scissors, a fine tooth comb, a poster for the M.A.C. Hair Straightener for Men, which cost 35 cents then, and instructions for Madame CJ Walker’s Hair Straightener, a conditioning treatment that was developed in 1905 for African Americans.

Brooklyn Works showcases the fact that Brooklyn has always been a magnet for newly arrived immigrants, offering affordable housing, a sense of belonging and, most important, job opportunities. The audio narrations of the toils and sweat of immigrants from all over the world who found solace in Brooklyn is riveting, as well as the lifesize cardboard photos that tell unique stories of some immigrants such as Mara Sanchez, Peter Wong and Frances Desvarieux.

Mara Sanchez, a general manager of Marcelina’s Mexican Food had a humble beginning in Brooklyn until his father opened the first tortilla factory in 1986. "When we first came here from Mexico, my dad started working as a salesman selling the tortillas from a van. After college, I started working full time with my dad; now I’m the manager."

Then there is the story of Peter Wong, a letter carrier in Sheepshead Bay. He was born in China, moved to Brooklyn in 1980 and has worked for the Postal Service since 1993.

"I know most of the people on my route. Every day is different. I get to see a kid grow up from a baby and go to high school."

Frances Desvariex who was born in Brooklyn but grew up in Haiti, returned to East Flatbush when she was 16. Desvarieux, who has worked in Brookdale Hospital for 14 years, takes pride in being part of a team that takes care of over nine hundred premature babies a year.

"As a young boy I really didn’t know any lawyers or doctors because everyone was driving trucks for factories or companies such as Drakes Cakes or working in factories or at the docks," said Gregory Larangeira, a native of Brooklyn who was excited about Brooklyn Works and couldn’t wait to see the exhibition.

"Brooklyn is my home and I feel strongly about the place. I was born here and I have watched it evolve from a blue collar working class kind of place that provided many jobs for people. I can remember when friends of mine lived in multi-bedroom apartments for less than a $100 a month," he added.

The exhibition will continue for the next three to five years. Brooklyn Historical Society is located at Clinton and Pierrepont streets and is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.

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