Scarsdale Historical Society and Scarsdale Library Look Back on Black History in Scarsdale

To celebrate Black History Month and display the beautiful new reference room at Scarsdale Library, the Scarsdale Historical Society and the Scarsdale Library joined forces to create an exhibit on the history of blacks in Scarsdale. Leslie Chang from the Scarsdale Historical Society introduced the exhibit in a video presentation available on Facebook live.

The exhibit uses original documents, photographs, newspaper articles and letters to shed light on slavery in the 1700’s and 1800’s and then jumps to cover two visits to Scarsdale from Martin Luther King in the 1960’s.

Local History Librarian Dan Glauber explained many of the records documenting slaves in Scarsdale and Associate Village Historian Jordan Copeland reviewed photos and history of the black community on Saxon Woods Road and also explained the mythology of the underground railroad in Scarsdale

The exhibit shows details of King’s 1965 visit to the home of Jon Marqusee on Kensington Road in Fox Meadow followed by a benefit for Abbot House. Also shown are photos of a march attended by 2,000 people in Scarsdale after the assassination of Martin Luther King on April 4, 1968. At the time, the Scarsdale Clergy Club organized a memorial march and 2,000 people turned out to walk from Butler Field to Chase Park in silence. At the time of King’s funeral, flags were lowered to half mast, schools were closed and Village businesses also shut their doors.Jordan Copeland reviews the history of the black community on Saxon Woods Road.

The virtual tour of the exhibit given by members of the Scarsdale Historical Society and Library staff was presented on Facebook live at 7 pm on Tuesday February 8, 2022. The video is available on demand and brings these historic documents to life. If you haven’t had a chance to tour Scarsdale’s new library, be sure to see the library and the exhibit.