In "Recalling Timbuctoo, A Slice of Black History, The New York Times highlights a plan by Gerrit Smith, an 1818 Hamilton graduate and a wealthy landowner at the time, to give away land to black families so that blacks could "acquire the means to vote."
The land was located in the Adirondacks, near Lake Placid, in what was once called Timbuctoo. Today, according to the article, "local maps show no record of Timbuctoo, and hardly anyone even knows how it got the name."
Smith's legacy is captured in a new exhibition, "Dreaming of Timbuctoo," which is on display in the Brooklyn Public Library's Central Library. "It features," the Times says, "a collection of faded photographs, excerpts of letters from Timbuctoo families and Mr. Smith, and a map, all screened onto textiles and hanging from rough-hewn wood made to look like fence posts."
Timbuctoo lasted only about 20 years, in part, according to the article, because the land was ill-suited for farming and many of the settlers had little money to sustain themselves. But, according to Amy Godine, the curator for the exhibit, "'This one little project drew some of the most extraordinary minds of its time. Yes, the land was lousy, but the black settlers were here, and people should know about their contributions.'"
A two-year tour of the state is planned for the exhibition.
