Brooklyn

We also have the oldest incorporated black town in the United States.

So this is in Brooklyn, Illinois.

And this was in 1873.

It was the first majority African-American town incorporated in the whole country.

And we are back live and coming to the end of Route 66 week on the show, which also means we're coming to the end of Route 66 in Illinois.

Just before the highway crosses the Mississippi River, it passes through the Metro East region in towns like Granite City, East St. Louis and Brooklyn.

And it's this last community, Brooklyn, that is our final subject today.

Brooklyn's history predates Route 66 by about a century.

It was an important station on the Underground Railroad.

It was part of the blues and jazz scenes in the early 1900s.

And it's said to be America's first majority black town incorporated and controlled by African-Americans.

In 1926, when Route 66 was commissioned, Brooklyn was on the path, but later realignments of the highway would bypass the town, part of a longer story of sidestepping Brooklyn, the legacy of which can still be felt today.

You know, as far as like looking at places and being like, I can't believe basketball brought me here.

You know, there's been places I've recruited over the years, you know, places like East St. Louis, Um, places like there's a place like called Brooklyn, Illinois.

I remember in Brooklyn, Illinois, I showed up to this game to recruit this kid when I was coaching junior college.

I know shocker, um, get in there and, you know, it's a tiny little gym.

And I mean, driving in there, it is a, it's a, it's a, it's an area that's gone through some struggles, obviously.

This is day one of our Route 66 journey.

Later this week, we'll be visiting roadside attractions, museums, and learning about Brooklyn, Illinois, with a scholar who argues it was America's first black-run town.

That's all coming up later this week here on The 21st Show, which is a production of Illinois Public Media.

I'm Brian Mackey.