Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani with Prithi Kanakamedala: The Cities We Need and Brooklynites

Join the authors of two recent books—The Cities We Need by Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani and Brooklynites by Prithi Kanakamedala—for a conversation about what it means to build freedom and belonging in place.

This event will take place in person at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on the 7th Floor.

Exploring people's stories in Brooklyn during two very different time periods—at the birth of the city in the 19th century and at the turn of the 21st century—these two books lay out the shaping of a city through a search for social justice and belonging, and the spaces that people make for themselves.

Brooklynites: The Remarkable Story of the Free Black Communities that Shaped a Borough by Prithi Kanakamedala uncovers the silences in the archive to bring to life the free Black community of the nineteenth century, which attracted people from all walks of life—businesswomen, church leaders, laborers, and writers—who sought to grow their city in a radical anti-slavery vision despite their freedom being threatened by racism.

The Cities We Need: Essential Stories of Everyday Places by Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani builds on twenty years of residents’ oral history, and the author’s expressive photography, illuminating what's at stake through the lens of the everyday places they visit—from diners to churches to donut shops—which are threatened by the gentrification and large-scale development that are silently displacing these citizens.

In comparison, and companionship, these two books illuminate a future way forward to build more just and free communities.

To join the event in person | Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Dr. Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani is a writer, artist, and cofounder of the interdisciplinary studio on place and dialogue, Buscada. She is the author of The Cities We Need: Essential Stories of Everyday Places (MIT Press, 2024) and Contested City: Art and Public History as Mediation at New York’s Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (University of Iowa Press, 2019), a finalist and honoree for the MAS Brendan Gill Award. A widely exhibited photographer, she was a professor of urban studies at the New School for a decade and has been a fellow at the International Center of Photography and the Centre for Urban Community Research at Goldsmiths, University of London. She holds a doctorate in environmental psychology from the Graduate Center, CUNY.

Prithi Kanakamedala is Professor of History at Bronx Community College CUNY, and serves as the faculty coordinator at PS2 (the Public Scholarship Practice Space) housed at the Center for the Humanities at the CUNY Graduate Center. She is also an active public historian, and works with a range of cultural organizations including Danspace Project Inc, Place Matters/ City Lore, New York Public Library, Brooklyn Historical Society (now Center for Brooklyn History at Brooklyn Public Library), and Weeksville Heritage Center. Brooklynites: the Remarkable Story of the Free Black Communities that Shaped a Borough (NYU Press, 2024), her first full-length book, won the 2024 Victorian Society of New York Book Award, and was a finalist for the Gotham Book Prize.

Books by our Speakers

• Borrow: NYPL Catalog


• E-Book app: SimplyE, available on iOS and Android


• This event will also include signing and sales of both speakers' books by our Library Shop.

Don't have a New York Public Library card? Get one here!

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES

In-Person

• Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue.


• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.


• This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

CONNECT WITH US

Sign up for our e-newsletters to stay up to date on upcoming events and Library offerings.

Please submit all press inquiries to Connor Goodwin at least 48 hours before the event: email connorgoodwin@nypl.org.
 

SUPPORT THE LIBRARY

The New York Public Library's free services and resources are made possible thanks to the support of the Friends of the Library. Join this group of Library lovers and take advantage of special membership benefits, like invitations to members-only virtual events, discounts at the Library Shop, and more. Join now.

All programs are subject to change or cancellation. All programs are subject to recording and photography.

The 7 Stories Up Series at SNFL is made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).