Central Park: What Lies Beneath

American History Hit

History Hit

America, History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 6 October 2022

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Central Park is an oasis of nature in New York City, amidst the countless skyscrapers and gridded streets of Manhattan. Over 800 acres of sweeping fields, shaded pathways and picturesque vistas attract more than 42 million visitors a year. It was created to give free and equal access to recreational space for all. But, as Don hears from Leslie Alexander, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of History at Rutgers University, underneath Central Park are the remains of Seneca - a village of African-American, Irish and German communities, whose inhabitants were forced from their homes to make way for the park’s construction in 1857.

Produced by Benjie Guy. Mixed by Thomas Ntinas. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.

For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	We're on top of Summit Rock at 140 feet, the highest point in Central Park.
0:07.0	Below us, a wedding party is gathered on the slopes carved stone stairs from some beautiful
0:14.4	photos. To the west, looking down 83rd Street, you can just make out the Hudson River and
0:19.2	New Jersey beyond. Encased on all sides by New York's famous gridded streets. Central Park is an
0:26.3	oasis of nature between Midtown to the south and Harlem to the north on the
0:30.3	island of Manhattan. It is the jewel of New York City, spanning 843 acres of sweeping
0:36.4	fields, shaded pathways, and picturesque viscas that draw in 42 million people every year. It is the product of Enlightenment philosophy and ideals of free and equal access to social, cultural and recreational resources.
0:51.0	But underneath this monument to Enlightenment are the remains of Seneca, a village of African-American, Irish, and German communities whose inhabitants were forced from their homes to make way for the construction of Central Park in 1857. Hello and welcome to American History Hit, I'm Don Wildman. My guest today is
1:21.4	Dr Leslie Alexander, author, activist, professor, indeed Dr Martin Luther King
1:28.0	Jr. Professor of History at Rutgers University. What an honor to have you on American History Yet. Hi Leslie.
1:34.0	Hi, thanks so much for having me.
1:36.0	You describe yourself as I checked your website as a specialist in early African American and African diaspora history, late 18th, early 19th
1:46.8	century black culture and resistance movements. Well that makes you the ideal expert voice
1:51.9	for our subject at hand, which is a really interesting one.
1:56.2	A story of Seneca Village in New York City, this extraordinary, primarily African American
2:01.6	community that once existed on lands now encompassed by what is now Central Park, right?
2:06.0	Yes, it's a community that as you said was predominantly African American but just slightly south of what we believe are sort of the official boundaries of Seneca
2:16.9	Village.
2:17.9	There was also a really lively and active Irish and German community as well.
2:21.6	So Seneca Village, as I understand
2:23.2	I understand existed from about 1825 to 1857 I think are the other dates so
2:28.8	before we get into the profound implications of this thing and the complications.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.