Oysters & the Archive: The Legacy of Black Foodways and Entrepreneurship in Brooklyn

For centuries, New York Harbor—including the waters around Brooklyn—was home to some of the world's most abundant oyster beds, making the city synonymous with oyster culture. Before the 20th century, when people thought of New York, they thought of oysters. This industry provided crucial economic opportunities for Black New Yorkers, who became skilled artisans in the trade and established their own oyster houses throughout the borough.​

Inspired by the history of Johnny Joe’s Oyster House, a popular Black-owned establishment in the 1800s founded by Johnny Joe and his wife, Louisa Britton, artist and Community Memory Fellow Jeremiah Ojo will share his own research conducted at the Center for Brooklyn History’s archives. His work led him to discover Johnny Joe's story and connect it to modern-day Black entrepreneurs who are keeping the legacy of oyster shucking and Black foodways alive.​

Join the Center for Brooklyn History and Kinfolk Tech for this National Oyster Day celebration featuring historians, entrepreneurs, community organizations, and artists: Dominique Jean-Louis (Center for Brooklyn History), Ben “Moody” Harney (The Real Mother Shucker), Tonya Hopkins (The Food Griot) and Jeremiah Ojo (Community Memory Fellow, Kinfolk Tech).