Other Side of Wall Street: Chapter One. Act I is the first printed edition from the Black Gotham Experience graphic novel series by artist and citizen historian Kamau Ware. This event will celebrate its launch and celebrate the hidden stories of the African Diaspora’s impact on New York City.

In 1625, a Portuguese slave ship is seized by West India Dutch pirates on the Atlantic Ocean. Eleven men from the regions of Angola and Congo are brought to the newly established outpost of New Amsterdam on the island of Manahatta and become the “company slaves” of the West India Dutch Company, charged with completing fundamental public works. In the 1640s, a small town known as Land of the Blacks begins to form right outside the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. By 1655, the Land of the Blacks was over twice the size of SoHo today and it continued to exist as the first free Black community in British New York.

The graphic novel offers a response to the gaps in the Black Diaspora’s visual and spoken history. BGX casts people of today to become forgotten people of the past. Designers create fashion inspired by their time. Photo shoots with the cast in costumes and illustrations remake their world.

Ware is an artist, citizen historian, and Founder & Lead Creative of Black Gotham Experience. His work has been recognized in The New York Times, Huffington Post, NBC News, Time Out New York, The New York Observer, and the Tribeca Film Festival Blog.

Writing & Photography by Kamau Ware

Design & Illustration by William Ellis