This program will be presented by SCHS Historian, Michael Diana, at SUNY Schenectady in honor of Black History Month. It is free and open to the public, and will be held in room Stockade 101.

In 1827 slavery was abolished in the state of New York granting freedom to a whole segment of Schenectady’s population. Newly freed, Schenectady’s black residents would still face many obstacles as they sought to establish a new place for themselves. Over the following decades, much of this community would vanish from our records and from the city altogether. This presentation seeks to shed light on this little known chapter of local history.