Washington Square Park Walking Tour

Discuss the past and present via a progressive, culturally inclusive perspective during our walking tour of Washington Square Park, Manhattan, and the surrounding neighborhood. We’ll start with the Lenape People, who were the area’s original inhabitants and landowners. Beginning with the colonial Dutch and British eras, we will discuss how the history of the Washington Square Park area includes important contributions from African Diaspora residents, students, tourists, artists, community members, and others, including enslaved and indentured Africans. From the Civil War in New York to the Reconstruction Era, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and Black Lives Matter in 2020, we will give a summary of African-Americans in and surrounding Washington Square Park. talk about the contributions and impact of European and other immigration waves, as well as those who changed Washington Square Park and the surrounding Greenwich Village neighborhood. We will talk about how places of worship affected the community’s access to healthcare and provided funds for new hospitals and medical facilities. We’ll look at how numerous waves of social justice and student-led activity have improved and affected Washington Square Park’s general health and safety as well as the larger community.The group will also learn about the history of Washington Square Park and the current and past public health and safety issues in the surrounding community. An overview of some of the region’s historic health and medical trailblazers will be given, including independent and women-founded clinics and hospitals that offered vital care and education to working-class and low-income families, children, and people with mental health and drug abuse needs. We’ll discuss current and historical pandemics and epidemics as well as other environmental and health concerns that affect the entire community. The history of animal activism, animal rights, and general animal health and safety in the community across time will also be briefly discussed. Please wear shoes that are comfortable for walking.