What if a destroyed 19th-century community had never been erased?
In short: In 1857, New York City demolished Seneca Village to build Central Park, leaving behind only faint traces of its residents. Now, The Met uses Afrofuturism to reconstruct that lost history—not as a static museum piece, but as a speculative vision of what the community might have become today.
Seneca Village was a thriving neighborhood established primarily by free Black landowners and tenants during the 1820s. It flourished just a few hundred yards from The Met's current location until the city used eminent domain to seize the land in 1857. This act of destruction displaced its residents, effectively erasing a vibrant community from the physical landscape of Manhattan.
The exhibition 'Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room' reimagines this domestic space through the lens of Afrofuturism—a creative framework that prioritizes Black imagination and self-determination. Unlike traditional period rooms that aim to replicate a specific, fixed historical moment, this installation treats time as interconnected. It asks viewers to imagine a reality where Seneca Village was allowed to grow, thrive, and evolve into the present day.
Curated by Hannah Beachler and Michelle Commander in collaboration with various intellectual partners since 2019, the project serves as a speculative home for those who were displaced. By blending real lived history with fictional possibilities, the museum creates a space for resilient futures. The initiative is supported by several entities, including the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, the Director’s Fund, and contributions from foundations in Lucerne and the United States.
This approach challenges the standard museum narrative of 'what was' by presenting 'what if.' It moves beyond mere preservation to use art as a tool for addressing historical injustice. By visualizing a future that was stolen, the exhibition invites visitors to consider how history can be used to imagine more equitable possibilities.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room Virtual Opening | Met Exhibitions
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