Westchester County has always been home to people working toward human rights for everyone. They include abolitionists in the 19th century as well as civil rights activists like Errold Collymore.
Read on to learn about their lives and accomplishments and consider the lessons that can be applied in the fight for equality today.
As a mostly agricultural area close to New York City, Westchester County was a stronghold for enslavement. The 1790 U.S. Census showed more than 1,000 people were held in slavery in Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mamaroneck and elsewhere in the county. Powerful politicians from Westchester made up a powerful pro-slavery voting group in the state Legislature.
At the same time, Westchester’s location made it very important for freedom-seekers traveling North along the Hudson River. Black and white people in the area worked together to help freedom-seekers and abolish enslavement altogether. Henry and Amanda Foster founded an AME Zion Church in Tarrytown that helped many people gain their freedom. They worked hand-in-hand with Quaker abolitionists and many other people.
Federal housing policy starting in the 1930s transformed the way people lived in Westchester County and elsewhere. The federal government worked with bankers and realtors to create redlining maps that cautioned against investment in Yonkers and New Rochelle neighborhoods with racial or ethnic minorities. The map said it was important that Black people stay “well confined” away from white neighborhoods.
The government provided tens of millions of dollars in loans for white people to buy houses in the suburbs. Black people were considered negative influences and could not receive loans. Racially restrictive covenants throughout Westchester County prevented Black people from living in some white neighborhoods unless they were working as servants.
Everyday residents of Westchester County organized to protest against racial discrimination in small and large ways. For example, when white residents tried to block a Black family from living in an exclusive Scarsdale neighborhood, a group of citizens went to public meetings and protested until the family was allowed to remain.