After decades of local activism, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted to designate a small brick home in Brooklyn as an historic landmark. In the mid 19th century, 227 Duffield Street was owned by abolitionist couple Harriet and Thomas Truesdell, and there is reason to believe that their home served as a temporary stop for those escaping slavery on the underground railroad.
Though the city co-named a section of Duffield street, “Abolitionist Place” in 2007, it had resisted giving the home landmark status until 2021. Historian and preservationist, Michael Henry Adams, presents an important lesson on honoring African American history.
