The Weeksville Heritage Center in Crown Heights has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for what many consider to be Brooklyn’s best kept secret.

According to its website, the center is a multidisciplinary museum dedicated to preserving the history of the 19th century African American community of Weeksville, Brooklyn – one of America’s many free black communities.

Its mission is to “Document, preserve and interpret the history of free African American communities in Weeksville, Brooklyn and beyond and to create and inspire innovative, contemporary uses of African American history through education, the arts, and civic engagement.”

Weeksville has been dealing with a budget deficit since the financial collapse of 2008 and has reached out to the community for help. It hopes to raise $200,000 to keep the center open through September, when they hope to get additional funding.

It has already raised $114,894.