Can You Read Cursive? Transcribing NYC Municipal Archives’ Slavery Archives

Join Black in Historic Preservation as we transcribe “NYC Slavery Records” for the NYC Department of Records and Information Services’ (DORIS) Municipal Archives.

The description of NYC's Records of Slavery project from NYC's Municipal Archives:

"The Department of Records and Information Services invites volunteers to transcribe recently digitized documents of enslaved people. Spanning from 1660 to 1838, the records contain birth records, manumission certificates, and court minutes detailing the lives of enslaved people in the localities that would become New York City. The majority of these records were created with the passing of the 1799 Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery [in New York State] and provide a rare, though still somewhat faint, spotlight on a community that was integral to the growth of the city."

Who is this for?

For descendants of enslaved Black people, preservationists, community advocates, cultural workers, historians, archivists, and anyone interested in reading primary sources about chattel enslavement in the US, especially in New York City.

Please note: Material in these volumes might contain language that some people might perceive as harmful.

This event is a virtual event hosted by Black in Historic Preservation, not hosted by NYC DORIS.