Join us in
this conversation with The Forward and Museum At Eldridge Street
about immigrant newspapers in NYC.
Nearly 200 languages are spoken by New York City’s
diverse citizens. They read in their own language, too - 95 ethnic
and foreign-language newspapers circulate every day in the city.
Printing news from the old country alongside their new one, these
papers keep immigrants connected and provide a sense of belonging.
New York Magazine reported in 2014 that these newspapers have a
combined circulation of 2.9 million - more than the print reach of The
New York Times, The Wall Street Journal,
the Daily News and the Post
combined.
These newspapers are vital to immigrants adjusting to
life in America’s most bustling city, and they’re not new. The
Yiddish-language Forward was launched in 1897 on the Lower
East Side. The publication gave eager American Jewish audiences news
about Jewish communities from around the world, and offered news and
advice about everything from baseball to labor rights. Across the way
in Chinatown, Chinese immigrants were printing their own newspapers
such as The China Daily News. These, too, covered news about
wars brewing in the home country, American sporting events, and
hyper-local news about rent protests.
The Museum of
Chinese in America (MOCA) and The Forward both have archives of these fascinating
historic newspapers. Join us as we dive in to discover how these two
different communities in such close proximity used their newspapers
to share information and build community. Joining this conversation
will be Chana Pollack, Archivist, The Forward; Yue Ma, Director for Collections and Research, MOCA; and Nancy Johnson, Archivist and Curator, Museum at Eldridge Street.
This program is held in conjunction with the exhibition Pressed: Images
from the Jewish Daily Forward at the Museum at
Eldridge Street.
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