Central Park's Seneca Village was a haven for Black land ownership 40 years before the end of slavery

Four decades before enslaved African Americans in Texas were given news of their freedom on June 19, 1865, now known as Juneteenth, a small population of African Americans would do what seemed impossible in the United States: own land. 

Together with immigrants from Europe, they would buy land and live in the area that's today known as Central Park. Their home was called Seneca Village. But in 1857, these groups were evicted from that land.

Director of Community Projects at the Central Park Conservancy John Reddick joined WNYC's Michael Hill to discuss the legacy of Black land ownership at Seneca Village.