Health, History, and Culture Community Tour through a progressive lens.

During this walking tour of Washington Square Park, Manhattan, and the immediate nearby area, we’ll talk about the past and present through a progressive, culturally-inclusive lens, starting with the Lenape People, who are the area’s original residents and caretakers of the land.

We’ll talk about how the Washington Square Park area’s history includes significant contributions from African Diaspora residents, students, visitors, creatives, community residents, and others, including enslaved and indentured African individuals, starting from the colonial Dutch and British time periods. We will provide an overview of African Americans in and around the Washington Square Park area spanning from Civil War New York, the Reconstruction Era, to the Harlem Renaissance, to the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, to 2020 Black Lives Matter.

We will discuss the contributions and influence of European and other waves of immigrants and others who transformed Washington Square Park and the greater Greenwich Village area. We will discuss the role places worship had, in influencing when it came to health care access and funding new hospitals and medical centers in the community. We will examine how many waves of these social justice and student-backed activism have benefited and impacted the overall health and safety of Washington Square Park and the greater community today.

The group will also learn about Washington Square Park and the history of the park and nearby community’s public health and safety challenges, both then and now. There will be an overview of some of the historic health/medical trailblazers in the area, including independent and women-founded hospitals and clinics that provided essential care and education for low-income and working-class families, children, and individuals with mental health and substance abuse needs. We’ll talk about past and recent epidemics/pandemics and other community-wide health and environmental issues.

We will also briefly touch on the history of animal activism/animal rights and general animal health and safety in the community over the years.

Please wear comfortable walking shoes.

Cash tips for the tour guide are not required, but welcome.

Time: 10:00 am — 12:30 pm EDT

Free!

Registration