New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and Black Gotham Experience Launch "Battle in the Margins” Theatrical Project

 

New plays and writing workshops will examine Black experiences in New York City during the American Revolution

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) in partnership with Black Gotham Experience (BGX) today announced the launch of “Battle in the Margins” a new theatrical project exploring Black life in New York City during the American Revolution. Developed through a series of original ten-minute plays, this project centers the African Diaspora’s experience, resistance, and role in shaping early American history, shining a light on stories often left out of the nation’s founding narrative.

The productions will premiere on September 19 at FDR Four Freedoms State Park from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“Black history is American history,” said New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Acting Commissioner Kathy Moser. “Through the Our Whole History initiative, we are committed to illuminating the experiences of Black New Yorkers on both sides of the American Revolution who lived, fought, and made consequential choices during this defining period of our past. We invite the public to explore this work through these writing workshops, which create a space for meaningful dialogue around one of the Revolution’s most complex and enduring questions: what did freedom mean to those for whom it was not guaranteed?”

OPRHP New York City Regional Director Leslie Wright said, “Battle in the Margins brings to life the stories of Black New Yorkers during the Revolutionary War. While the revolution raged around them, people were engaged in an urgent fight: for autonomy, dignity, and survival in a city transformed by war. Through these performances, audiences will discover how freedom was both deeply personal and a matter of survival. We are excited to partner with Black Gotham Experience, the Four Freedoms Park Conservancy, and many others to bring this important history to light."

Black Gotham Experience Founder and Creative Executive Office Kamau Ware said, “New York City holds some of the most important American Revolutionary history. People of African descent were not only participants on both sides of the conflict, but their very presence and cries for freedom in the Americas, before and after the war, were central to both the British and American story. In true revolutionary fashion, we invite New Yorkers to put pen to paper in consideration of what the Declaration of Independence means in the United States of America 250 years after its initial publication in the summer of 1776.”

The project launches on June 15 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the South Street Seaport Museum. This launch event will introduce the playwrights behind this new Revolutionary-era theatrical project and also kick off a citywide series of writing workshops running through July hosted by Black Gotham Experience and SYNTAX – including at Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park on June 27 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and FDR Four Freedoms State Park on July 15. To learn more about these workshops and registration information, click here.

Open to students, emerging writers, and professionals, this series of workshops invite New Yorkers across all five boroughs to grapple with the Revolution’s contradictions – a fight for liberty in a society where enslavement remained legal. Through thought-provoking prompts and community dialogue, participants will explore themes of freedom, displacement, and identity in Revolutionary-era New York.

South Street Seaport Museum President & CEO Jonathan Boulware said, “Illuminating the role of African-descended people during and after the American Revolution is in the brilliant conception of Black Gotham Experience. 'Battle in the Margins' brings that bright light to founding documents and ideas including those in The Promise of Liberty: Words That Shaped a Nation. The Seaport Museum is honored to be in conversation with New Yorkers about the Declaration of Independence and the people it sought and seeks to represent.”

The launch coincides with the South Street Seaport Museum’s The Promise of Liberty: Words That Shaped a Nation exhibition which examines foundational documents and evolving ideas of liberty in American history. Anchored by the Declaration of Independence’s promise of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” the exhibition traces how America’s founding ideals have evolved over time. The exhibition is on view at the A.A. Thomas & Co. Warehouse from May 27 through August 9, 2026.

Through performances, workshops, and public dialogue, “Battle in the Margins” invites New Yorkers to reconsider the American Revolution through the perspectives of the African Diaspora and to engage with the enduring questions of liberty, identity, and belonging that continue to shape the nation today. 

New York State is leading the nation in the commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution. Information on commemorative events statewide this year can be found on the I Love New York “Path Through History website, which can be found here. The New York State Park system includes many parks and historic sites associated with the Revolution. More information can be found here.  

OPRHP

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses, boat launches and more, and welcomes over 86 million visitors annually. For more information on any of these recreation areas, visit parks.ny.gov, download the free NY State Parks Explorer app or call (518) 474-0456. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, the OPRHP Blog or via the OPRHP Newsroom.  

BLACK GOTHAM EXPERIENCE (BGX)

Black Gotham Experience (BGX) is an award-winning creative intervention that elevates the impact of the African Diaspora by establishing space to revisit untold and suppressed stories through a practice that invites people to walk, talk, and reimagine the past to expand public consciousness. BGX was founded in 2010 and in this 16th year, will include national and international activations in addition to citywide programs from May through November. Connect with us at blackgotham.com, LinkedIn, and Instagram.  

SYNTAX 

SYNTAX is a literary archival project that honors the aesthetics and arrangement of the written word. SYNTAX supports the writing process from the inception of marks on a page to programs connecting powerful writing to audiences.