This talk will take place on Thursday, May 20 at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT.

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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.

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The Forward and the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) 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, Museum of Chinese in America (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.

This conversation will take place over Zoom.

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