Religious Freedom
As one of the primary destinations for immigrants from across the globe, New York has long been a center of activism for assisting or deterring these newcomers. Learn about the discrimination immigrants have faced, their struggles to improve their quality of life, and how immigrants continue to transform the city.
Case Studies:
Let Us Stay
In 1657, 31 settlers in the Dutch colony of New Netherland (now New York and New Jersey) risked arrest and banishment when they spoke up in defense of members of the Society of Friends—known as Quakers—who had been banned from the colony. Insisting on their right “to do good unto all men,” these residents of Vlissingen (today’s Flushing, Queens) offered shelter to Quakers despite the disapproval of Director-General Petrus Stuyvesant.
