[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1305-E1306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CELEBRATING THE 133RD ANNIVERSARY OF THE VILLAGE OF BROOKLYN, ILLINOIS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 28, 2006

  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join 
me in recognizing the 133rd anniversary of the incorporation of the 
Village of Brooklyn, Illinois, the first and oldest African-American 
town in the United States.
  Around the year, 1829, a group of 11 African-American families, some 
free, some fugitive slaves, crossed the Mississippi River from Missouri 
and settled in the area that would become Brooklyn, Illinois. The 
community continued to grow as it attracted both escaped slaves and 
free African-Americans from the St. Louis area and neighboring states. 
The thriving settlement was platted and named, Brooklyn, in 1837.
  During Brooklyn's early years, before the Civil War, African-
Americans had no ability to vote or petition for the incorporation of 
their community. With the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to 
the Constitution in 1865, the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868 and the 
Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, African-Americans gained the legal rights 
of citizenship. Shortly after these events, on July 8, 1873, the 
citizens of Brooklyn petitioned to incorporate. An election was called 
and, by unanimous vote, Brooklyn was incorporated as a village in St. 
Clair County, Illinois.

[[Page E1306]]

  The history of Brooklyn has roughly paralleled that of neighboring 
municipalities in the industrial area along the Mississippi River, 
across from St. Louis. Many of its residents readily found work in the 
stockyards and factories that flourished into the middle of the last 
century. As those industries left, so did the jobs that allowed the 
citizens of Brooklyn to provide for their families.
  Despite recent hard times, the same spirit that led those first 
courageous settlers to establish this community still lives on. The 
village motto is, ``Founded by Chance, Sustained by Courage,'' and 
those words inspire the current generation to seek new opportunities 
for their community. The ``North Star'' Corridor Economic Alliance 
Project is one example of a new implementation of the community's 
founding values.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the 133rd 
anniversary of the Village of Brooklyn, Illinois and to wish them the 
best as they move forward in the years to come.

                          ____________________