The African American Historical Society of Rockland County hosted its Annual Event with a virtual conversation featuring Dr. Prithi Kanakamedala, author of Brooklynites: The Remarkable Story of the Free Black Communities that Shaped a Borough. In accordance with AAHS bylaws, the Annual Event also served as the Society’s official year-in-review, reflecting on the work carried out in 2025 and reaffirming AAHS’s mission to preserve the history of the Black experience in Rockland County.
The evening honored AAHS founders Jacqueline and Lawrence Holland, whose leadership laid the foundation for more than two decades of public history work in the county.
Dr. Kanakamedala’s scholarship on nineteenth-century free Black communities in Brooklyn offered a powerful lens for considering Rockland County’s own histories of resilience, resistance, and community building. She discussed her work partnering with communities to safeguard family archives and neighborhood histories, emphasizing community archiving and memory work as essential tools for preserving Black life across generations.
The program also acknowledged the December 6, 1865 ratification of the 13th Amendment, recognizing both its role in abolishing slavery and the enduring consequences of its exception clause—reinforcing the importance of historical truth-telling and public education.
The evening concluded with a renewed commitment to preservation, community memory, and the ongoing work of documenting Black histories in Rockland County through initiatives such as the Historic Hillburn Online Hub and the Rockland County Black Historical Communities Collaborative.