Events
DORIS offers programs, tours, and activities related to our holdings. Join our mailing list to be the first to know about exhibition openings, upcoming events, recent blog posts, and much more.
Note: If you require an auxiliary aid or service in order to attend a DORIS event, please contact the Disability Service Facilitator.
Note: To request language interpretation services, please contact the Language Access Coordinator at least three (3) business days before an event.
Lunch & Learn: "No Trouble From the Women" - Black Women, the UNIA, and a Global Movement
Online (Zoom)
Wednesday, March 11 - 1:00-2:00pm
Join the NYC Department of Records & Information Services (DORIS) each month for our virtual Lunch & Learn Series – an intimate conversation with agency staff and special guests focusing on the collections of the Municipal Archives and Library and the history of New York City.
In 1925, a group of women took over the convention floor during a meeting of the largest social justice organization of the 20th century, the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Guided by an activist strategy they called “efficient womanhood,” they were determined to modify the UNIA’s constitution and formally assert the rights of dues-paying women members.
On March 11, Dr. Natanya Duncan, author of the award-winning book An Efficient Womanhood: Women and the Making of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, will delve into the distinct activist strategies employed by UNIA women, bringing to light how the women scripted their own understanding of Pan-Africanism, Black Nationalism, and constructions of Diasporic Blackness.
Discover the impact these “efficient women” had on the UNIA - from its origins in Kingston, Jamaica to its imprint on modern-day movements such as Black Lives Matter and Say Her Name - and consider the lessons their activism offers for our current moment.
RSVP to join us by clicking here.
Open Data Week: What's New for Family History
31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007
Tuesday, March 24 - 12:00-1:00pm
On March 24, Ken Cobb and Marcia Kirk from the Department of Records and Information Services will present a discussion and demonstration of newly released voter registration records available on Ancestry.com. These records document the period from 1915-1956 and include several important events: women’s right to vote, both World Wars, and the Great Depression.
Open to researchers and people interested in researching genealogy, family history, local history, voting patterns, population movement. This is an in-person event at the NYC Department of Records and Information Services, 31 Chambers Street, NYC in Room 111.
RSVP to join us by clicking here.
Lunch & Learn: Fabulous Fountains of New York
Online (Zoom)
Tuesday, March 24 - 1:00-2:00pm
Join the NYC Department of Records & Information Services (DORIS) each month for our virtual Lunch & Learn Series – an intimate conversation with agency staff and special guests focusing on the collections of the Municipal Archives and Library and the history of New York City.
On March 24, author Stephanie Azzarone and photographer Robert F. Rodriguez will present highlights from their new book, Fabulous Fountains of New York, an exploration of the city’s most distinctive fountains.
Ranging from the classical and ornate to the modern and abstract, discover how New York fountains are more than decorative. The structures commemorate heroes, celebrate culture, and have even served as a tool for temperance. Discover the surprising stories behind their creation and legacy.
RSVP to join us by clicking here.
Lunch & Learn: Sugar, Cigars & Revolution
Online (Zoom)
Wednesday, April 22 - 1:00-2:00pm
Join the NYC Department of Records & Information Services (DORIS) each month for our virtual Lunch & Learn Series – an intimate conversation with agency staff and special guests focusing on the collections of the Municipal Archives and Library and the history of New York City.
On April 22, Dr. Lisandro Perez, author of Sugar, Cigars, and Revolution: The Making of Cuban New York, will trace the development of the largest community of Latin American origin west of the Mississippi River during the 19th century, New York City’s Cuban community.
Driven by the sugar trade and the fight for Cuban independence, New York became the primary destination for Cuban émigrés seeking an education, commerce, wealth, freedom, or even a safe place to plot a revolution.
Join us as Dr. Perez uses primary sources such as census data and vital records to reconstruct the community, bringing to life the stories of individuals and families that made up the fabric of a little-known immigrant world.
RSVP to join us by clicking here.