Uncovering the history of Seneca Village in New York City

Most people who walk through Central Park, from tourists to lifelong New Yorkers, have no idea of the history under their feet. 

In 1825, a 25-year-old African American shoe shiner named Andrew Williams bought land in the middle of Manhattan, two years before slavery was abolished in New York. More free Black Americans followed, fleeing the disease and discrimination of downtown, and together they created a bustling settlement of their own, known as Seneca Village.

"Seneca Village was a place of opportunity. It was a reaction to racism," said Cynthia Copeland, president of the Institute for the Exploration of Seneca Village History. She has spent decades uncovering its story.