then came to new york and anglicized his name to phillip augustus white. there was no haiti in the background, there was no trip to paris. he was born, actually, in new jersey in hoboken, moved very quickly -- [laughter] moved very quickly to new york city and did become a pharmacist. so i was faced with a real problem there. and as i started my research to find family stories, what i discovered was that there had actually been a real will to commemorate in, among 9th century -- 19th century black new yorkers, that forgetting was not their way of life. they started off, first of all, in commemorations, for example, of important events like the abolition of the slave trade, january 1, 1808, and commemorated it every year after on the same day in ceremonies, in parades. they commemorated the abolition of slavery in the state of new york which was july 4, 1827.

and, of course, the name was phillip augustus white, so i recognized him immediately. to give you a quick thumbnail sketch, he was born in 123, died in 1891. he was from a fairly poor family. his father died when he was young. he went to one of the public schools, they called them a colored school. he aftera wards went to -- afterwards went to train with james smith who was one of our early doctors and pharmacists and was an apprentice in smith's pharmacy for two years. that enabled him to enter the college of pharmacy of the city of new york. and he got a degree in 1844. 1844, black man from the college of pharmacy. his great -- so then he established a pharmacy, a drugstore in downtown new york. it is on the corner of what was frankfurt and gold street, and part of pace university is there now. he made quite a bit of money through his drugstore. the money he had he gave back to two causes; one, the education of black children, and the other his church, st. phillip's episcopal church. when he moved to brooklyn in 1870, he settled there. in 1883 seth lowe, who was then