This is the text of the email that I shared today with the Weeksville community.
Dear Friend:
I’m writing to share the news that I’ll be stepping down as president and executive director of Weeksville at the end of this month.
While this may seem sudden, I can assure you it’s not. Last June, after we completed our Strategic Plan, I informed the Board of my desire to transition, and agreed to stay on while they searched for a successor. That search is nearing its end, and an announcement will be forthcoming. I will be available as an advisor to Weeksville’s new leader to ensure a smooth onboarding.
It’s been my high honor to lead this institution.
My goals were always simple: Leave Weeksville in better shape than it was when I got here in September 2017. My first order of business was to ensure that Weeksville continued to be a place that would make you proud. I didn’t want you to support Weeksville because you felt obligated. Rather, I wanted you to support Weeksville because you felt that we delivered value culturally, historically and through the sense of community you found with us. I also believed that Central Brooklyn deserved to have world-class Black art and culture on display, and that Weeksville should be a place for showcasing Black excellence. I believe those goals were achieved.
Over the last three years, we’ve hosted award-winning writers such as Tayari Jones (“American Marriage”); Uzodinma Iweala (“Beasts of No Nations”); Sarah Broom (“The Yellow House”); and playwright Dominique Morisseau (Broadway’s “Ain’t Too Proud”). We’ve had visual arts exhibitions with Eric Edwards’ incredible African Art collection; noted painter Fahamu Pecou; and husband-and wife team Mendi + Keith Obadike kicked off our artist-in-residence program, an offering that continues this year and into 2022 with performance artist and scholar Ebony Noelle Golden. And there was, and is, much more.
These accomplishments were made possible by growing our relationships with organizations as varied as BRIC, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Asase Yaa, Arts For Art, National Black Theatre, the Brooklyn Museum, OKO Farms, MoCADA, and so many others.
At An Inflection Point, We Rose.
A defining moment of my tenure was leading the institution through our financial crisis of 2019. With the support of our broad community—individuals like you, Weeksville’s committed staff, our Board of Trustees, leaders at other community and cultural institutions, the media, and incredibly supportive funders—Weeksville emerged renewed. And, with the support of key members of the NYC Council, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Mayor Bill de Blasio, I secured Weeksville’s entry into the NYC Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), the first such designation in over 20 years and the first one given to a Black organization in Brooklyn. Along with 33 other organizations, Weeksville now has a permanent line item in the City’s budget and a new level of financial stability. This means that the Center can continue to be a presenter of exciting and timely cultural programming; more importantly, it can do the mission-critical work of preserving its architectural treasures, the Historic Hunterfly Road Houses.
Weeksville’s Future Is Bright!
I’m gratified that I’ve been able to add staff–in preservation, marketing, operations and security–with other positions to come under the Center’s new leader. All of this puts Weeksville in a better position to fulfill its mission by building on the skills of the talented and dedicated staff, giving them the additional knowledge and expertise that will make the institution’s goals even more achievable.
I think back to the vision held by Dr. Joan Maynard and the community members who were so critical to Weeksville’s rediscovery in the late ‘60s. They believed that the story and example of this free Black community was vital to pass on to future generations. Rest assured that their vision lives on: The work of this amazing Center will continue and historic Weeksville’s story will remain relevant and resonant long into the future. I’m proud to have played a part in building on that legacy.
Warm regards, please stay safe and healthy, and I’ll see y’all around Brooklyn!
Rob Fields
President & Executive Director
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