Class Warfare, Black Gotham and Much More: A First Look at 2012 Tenement Talks

Another exciting year of Tenement Talks is here! We're thrilled to present Tenement Talks in our newly expanded space (to read about our new shop opening click here) and we've got a dynamic schedule of authors, journalists, chefs and architects for 2012.  Here's a sampling of what's coming up.

Thursday, January 19th – Class Warfare with Steven Brill
Award-winning journalist Steven Brill takes an uncompromising look at the adults who are fighting over America’s failure to educate its children—and points his suggested way to reversing that failure.

Tuesday, January 24th – Behind the Scenes: The Hebrew Technical Institute and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum with Dave Favaloro
Founded in 1883, the Hebrew Technical Institute (HTI) offered an industrial arts education to young Jewish boys in NYC. Director of Curatorial Affairs and HTI Research Fellow, David Favaloro, will discuss the relationship between HTI and our historic tenement, 97 Orchard Street.

Thursday, January 26th – New York Diaries: 1609-2009 with Teresa Carpenter
New York Times best selling author, Teresa Carpenter curates this collection of journal entries, selected from four centuries of writing from the 1600s to the present day allowing New York natives and visitors, writers and artists, thinkers and bloggers, to reach across time and share vivid snapshots of life in the city.

Tuesday, February 7th - Behind the Scenes: A Biography of 103 Orchard Street
Explore the 123 year history of 103 Orchard Street, the Tenement Museum’s new visitor and education center. How has the building been altered over time? Who lived and worked here? What stories have Museum researchers uncovered?

Monday, February 13th - Investigate This: Conversations with ProPublica
Eyes on the Stimulus: Money Well Spent?
ProPublica reporter Michael Grabell will discuss his investigation of the 2009 stimulus project and his new book Money Well Spent?

Wednesday, February 29th – Black Gotham: A Family History of African American in Nineteenth-Century New York with Carla Peterson
Carla Peterson challenges many of the accepted "truths" about African-American history, including the assumption that the phrase "nineteenth-century black Americans" means enslaved people, that "New York state before the Civil War" refers to a place of freedom, and that a black elite did not exist until the twentieth century.

Thursday, March 1st Jews and Booze with Marni Davis
Marni Davis delves into the history of making and selling liquor, wine, and beer— revealing that alcohol commerce played a crucial role in the Jewish immigrant experience and the growth of Jewish communities in the United States.

Monday, March 12 Investigate This: Conversations with ProPublica
Women in Media
In honor of Women’s History Month, a trio of ProPublica’s female journalists will share their thoughts on working in the male-dominated news business.

Thursday, March 15: Highline: The Inside Story of New York City’s Park in the SkyWith: Joshua David and Robert Hammond
The Highline attracted more than 300,000 people in the first 6 weeks it was open. Since then, it attracts close to 20,000 a weekend in the spring and summer months. Designers, founders, and architects Joshua David and Robert Hammond discuss the radical transformation of a derelict elevated railway into a grand-and beloved-open space.

Tuesday, March 20: Island of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Doomed Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York with Richard Zacks introduced by Kevin Baker
Richard Zacks tells the story of the era when Theodore Roosevelt was appointed New York City police commissioner and eagerly tried to shut down brothels, gambling joints and after-hour saloons. However, he was never successful and learned the hard way that New York loves its sin much more then its salvation.

Thursday, April 5: UNTERZAKHN with Leela Corman
Leela Corman presents a graphic novel of immigrant life on the Lower East Side at the turn of the twentieth century as seen through the eyes of twin sisters whose lives take radically and tragically different paths.

For the most up-to-date talk listings please visit www.tenementmuseum.org/vizcenter_events.

If you would like to attend any of our events please email events@tenementmuseum.org

Finally, it you are unable to attend Tenement Talk you can watch it live online at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tenement-talks

Don’t forget to also follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tenementmuseum

-Posted by Kathryn Hennessy