The Rhode Island Historical Society, the state's oldest and only statewide historical organization, is dedicated to honoring, interpreting and sharing Rhode Island's past to enrich the present and inspire the future. Founded in 1822, the RIHS is an advocate for history as a means to develop empathy and 21st -century skills, using its historical materials and knowledge to explore topics of timeless relevance and public interest. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, it is dedicated to providing high-quality, accessible public programming and educational opportunities for all Rhode Islanders through its four sites: the John Brown House Museum, the Museum of Work & Culture, the Mary Elizabeth Robinson Research Center and the Aldrich House.
Description
Join the Rhode Island Historical Society on Monday, September 28th at 12:30pm for the ninth installment of Liberty at Lunchtime, a monthly virtual series highlighting partners in the other 13 original colonies. The series continues with a presentation from Seth Schonberg, Archivist at City Lore in New York City.
When Katrina Thomas accepted the job as the first professional photographer for the New York City Mayor's Office, she quickly learned that the City was more than just Uptown and Downtown Manhattan. By 1971, as an independent photographer, Thomas took it upon herself to document the City's diverse life, from Hindu celebration of Diwali at the Geeta Temple in Elmhurst, Queens, the colorful costumes of West Indian Carnival on Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, the lively sidewalk life of the Puerto Rican community in El Barrio, East Harlem, Manhattan, or to just a handful of blocks downtown to the comfortability and intimacy of the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant family dinner table on Christmas night, on the Upper East Side.
Guests will receive a virtual tour of New York City from 50 years ago, as captured by Katrina Thomas in her decade-long project documenting the Ethnic Life of New York City. Across 25,000 photographs, Thomas documented almost 800 community, ethnic, and religious events throughout the city between 1971-1983, culminating in the Katrina Thomas "Ethnic USA" Collection, today housed at City Lore and the Library of Congress American Folklife Center.
Seth Schonberg is the Archivist at City Lore, where he develops and maintains the City Lore Archive, supports public access, and manages publication requests. Interested in preserving all things cultural, he has a background in music archiving from his work at New York Public Library’s Library for the Performing Arts Music Division and the Archive of Contemporary Music. Recent external projects include co-curation of the exhibit “Phyllis Floyd’s New York” at Zeuxis art space THERE in Chelsea, April-May 2024; NYPL Library for the Performing Arts’s 2022-2023 exhibit “Lou Reed: Caught Between The Twisted Stars,” for which he was the Curatorial Assistant. Seth has an MLS degree from CUNY Queens College with an Advanced Certificate in Archives, and a BA in Anthropology from CUNY Hunter College.
Founded in 1985, City Lore’s mission is to foster New York City – and America’s – living cultural heritage through education and public programs in service of cultural equity and social justice. City Lore encompasses a Lower East Side gallery space, performances, lectures, the People’s Hall of Fame, a POEMobile that projects poems onto walls and buildings, and programs throughout the five boroughs.
City Lore documents, preserves, presents, and advocates for New York City’s grassroots cultures to ensure their living legacy in stories and histories, places and traditions. They work in four cultural domains: urban folklore and history; preservation; arts education; and grassroots poetry traditions. In each, City Lore seeks to further cultural equity and model a better world with projects as dynamic and diverse as New York City itself.
Date & Time
Mon, Sep 28, 2026 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM