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Jerome Krase

Early twentieth century Brooklyn was always portrayed as an exclusive bastion of white ethnics – Irish, the Italians and Jews. However, Ron Howell reveals the important political role played by Caribbean immigrants the early 1900s. Most important was Bertram Baker, an immigrant from the then British island of Nevis who joined with other West Indians, and American Blacks of the “Great Migration.” In 1948 he became the first Black elected to political office in Brooklyn. In Baker’s era, as described by Howell, Blacks began demanding their fair share of the patronage pie such as civil service jobs. But Boss of Black Brooklyn is not the usual academic treatise on Brooklyn politics. It is a story about an extraordinary man. He had weaknesses as well as high ambitions and Howell tells the story of both his wins and losses. Sprinkled with tears, It is a unique story of an American dream. Bertram Baker was Howell's his maternal grandfather, so he adds a memoir to this biography. I have written extensively about Brooklyn’s neighborhoods, once teamed up with Howell on a panel at a conference he organized called “Bed-Stuy in Crisis.” We examined how Black Brooklyn is negatively impacted by gentrification. Hundreds attended and justly expressed their anger and fear. The danger to the vital community was the booming real estate market that is forcing people of color to abandon Brooklyn by the thousands each year. The evening's consensus was that needed today is a political boss who would demand what Brooklyn Blacks deserve – decent jobs and affordable places to live. Perhaps Bertram Baker, long deceased, would say, Things have changed – and they haven’t changed.

A Day in Black Brooklyn History

  • BakerSwornInTHISisSMALL

    On Tues., Nov. 2, 1948, Baker became the first black elected to political office in Brooklyn. Wife Irene is here with him at his swearing-in.

The Boss (Now Long Deceased) Reflects on His Feat

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     Brief, edited clips from Baker's talk at the Historical Society over 40 years ago.

Deval Patrick Recalls His Grandad-in-Law: the Boss

  • DevalPatrickImageBainThe ex-Governor of Massachusetts, Patrick is talked-about as a 2020 presidential candidate in 2020. (Read more here about him and the Boss.)

Purchase Boss of Black Brooklyn

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Baker was also the Boss of Black Tennis

  • Althea-GibsonAlthea Gibson was important in the life of Bertram Baker. He fought to get her into all-white tennis competitions. She then made history as the first black tennis champion. Yanick Rice Lamb, author of Born to Win: The Authorized Biography of Althea Gibson, comments. Read her review here.

Last of the Bigtime Bosses

  • JudgeMortonTipsHatFuneral Bertram Baker was at the end of a line of bosses who named judges, based in good part on loyalty. Here NY Supreme Court Justice Franklin Morton tips his hat to Baker's coffin. Published in the New York Times, March 12, 1985. Photographer: Chester Higgins.

Fatherhood as a Cross Generational Theme

  •  DadAndSonUse

    Herbert Bias/Getty Images/Stock Photo

    Ron Howell, author of Boss of Black Brooklyn and grandson of the Boss, wrote in 2014 about the crisis of black fatherhood. (Read here.)

     

Scholar: Here's a Key to Understanding NY Politics

  • Clarence Taylor, Professor Emeritus, Baruch College, author of The Black Churches of Brooklyn and other books, wrote that Boss of Black Brooklyn is crucial reading for anyone interested in the twentieth century political history of New York. (Read review here.)

The Island of Nevis is in the Limelight

  • MapOfNevisUse4SiteFor centuries, Nevis has been among the world's most desired destinations. So tiny and lovely. Yet it was too tiny for big dreamers like Alexander Hamilton and Bertram Baker. The island's leaders are proud of its natural gifts and most of all its history. Everson W. Hull, Ph.D., and Ambassador from St. Kitts and Nevis to the Organization of the American States, says Baker's story is a gift to Nevis, Brooklyn and America. (Read here)

     

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