Brooklyn, Illinois
Brooklyn (popularly known as Lovejoy), is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. Located two miles north of East St. Louis, Illinois and three miles northeast of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, it is the oldest town incorporated by African Americans in the United States. Its motto is "Founded by Chance, Sustained by Courage." The mayor is Mayor Vera Banks-Glasper.
Brooklyn | |
|---|---|
Village | |
Brooklyn in St. Clair County, Illinois. | |
Location of Illinois in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 38°39′24″N 90°9′55″W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | St. Clair |
| Founded by | traditionally said to be Priscilla Baltimore |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.81 sq mi (2.10 km2) |
| • Land | 0.81 sq mi (2.10 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 410 ft (120 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 649 |
| • Density | 800.25/sq mi (308.89/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP Code(s) | 62059 |
| Area code | 618 |
| FIPS code | 17-08667 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2397466 |
| Wikimedia Commons | Brooklyn, Illinois |
| Website | thevillageofbrooklyn |
A missionary AME Church was established in the new settlement in 1836. Now known as Quinn's Chapel AME, its congregation is believed to have supported the Underground Railroad and aided fugitive slaves to freedom, together with members of the Antioch Baptist Church established in 1838.
An early interracial community, it suffered from structural discrimination; transport lines were routed to bypass and isolate it rather than connecting it, and economic development projects passed over it, and indeed were set up in competition to it. In 2015, the county's state attorney Brendan Kelly described the village as a 'failed state.'