Location: The Silberman School of Social Work Auditorium
Event Organizer: Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Cost: Free
Join CENTRO for a series exploring the significance of preserving and documenting the historical memory of diasporic and minority communities. As part of our 50th Anniversary, we aim to make our archival experience and knowledge accessible to empower our community and ensure our legacies are woven into the tapestry of global heritage.
Collective memory shapes identities, fosters understanding, and forges inclusivity. Through engaging discussions and interactive sessions, we will explore why it is crucial to capture and share the stories of communities that have often been overlooked.
Through this symposium we will:
-Discuss best archival practices for individual and collective community archives
-Learn about copyright laws and restrictions
– Engage in personal digitization workshops
-Explore a comprehensive outline of our shared history
Join us for 3 days with The Schomburg, Lesbian Herstory, The Whitney, and other partners at the CENTRO Library & Archives located in El Barrio!
We’re kicking off a weekend of community archiving with a conversation on the importance of guarding our histories. Join CENTRO Directora, Dr. Yomaira Figueroa in conversation with Joy Bivins, Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture on the shared responsibilities, challenges, and joy of archiving such rich and unique communities. This conversation is moderated by Briona Jones, Assistant Professor of English, Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Connecticut.
10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
Join Amy Beth from Lesbian Herstory Archives, Barrey Brown of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Azale Camacho and Stephany Bravo of the Diaspora’s Solidarity Lab Archives, Danica Stompór from the Queens College Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library, with CENTRO Archivist Lindsay Wittwer, as they explore the challenges, rewards, and lessons learned of collecting and documenting their communities’ histories. Each of the Community Archives represented in this panel document unique communities, however, there are similarities in how this work is done.
11:30 AM – 12:45 PM
Explore the process of donating treasured materials (or accepting them) and the limitations that exist in the acquisition process. The transfer of archival materials can be hard, especially when copyrights are taken into consideration. This panel, moderated by CENTRO Archivist Lindsay Wittwer, brings together Emma E. Frean of the Volunteers Lawyers for the Arts of New York, CENTRO Archivist, Cristina Fontánez Rodriguez, and CENTRO Donor, Candido Negron, and dives into how you can protect your interest as you navigate the transfer process while providing information on the best practices.
3:00 PM – 4:15 PM
In the world of archiving, there’s often not enough information available about collections that include photos, art, manuscripts, and creative works. This lack of information can make it difficult to give credit to the original creators. This panel discussion, moderated by CENTRO archivist Cristina Fontánez Rodriguez with Farris Wahbeh of the Whitney Museum of American Art, Valerie Irizarry of En Foco, and Daniel Silva of El Museo is all about addressing these issues and giving attendees strategies to work around them when building collections. It will also cover ways to improve local archives by adding more details about the items, making it easier and more ethical to use these valuable resources.
Get hands-on experience with our Community Digital Archiving Workshop led by CENTRO and The XFR Collective. Bring in your materials and we’ll digitize up to 5 of your items while providing tips on how to care for your existing archive.
CENTRO’s Archives is the only repository in the world devoted to documenting Diasporican history. It contains over 6700 cubic feet of material from more than 300 archival collections spanning the 20th and 21st centuries and documents communities in New York City, central Florida, California, Chicago and Philadelphia. CENTRO also holds the records of the Offices of the Government of Puerto Rico in the United States, which extensively documents migration stateside throughout the 20th century. As Puerto Ricans in the diaspora, we know the impact of our communities across the United States and we understand the importance of guarding that history. You can be a part of this history! Join us for 3 days of community, archiving, and learning with CENTRO and our partners!
This event will have simultaneous English to Spanish translation for virtual participants.
Date: October 12, 2021
Grab your lonche and join Centro Library and Archives as we kick off our Library Lunch Hour on October 12, 2021! Susan Klein, the Centro Library and Archives Project Archivist, … Continued
Date: October 07, 2021
Centro Director, Yarimar Bonilla and Author Sherina Feliciano-Santos on October 7, 2021, discussing her latest book A Contested Caribbean Indigeneity: Language, Social Practice and Identity within Puerto Rican Taino Activism. … Continued
Date: October 13, 2021
The Center for Puerto Rican Studies invites you to a cafecito seminar showcasing current research by Centro’s data lab team. Dr. Yarimar Bonilla (Centro Director), Dr. Isar Godreau (UPR researcher) … Continued