Harmful Content Remediation Project Update

Recently, the Department of Records of Information Services (DORIS) shared its harmful content statement  on the agency’s website and new digital collections platform, Preservica.  

This statement is part of the larger and ongoing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives at the agency. These include the “In Her Own Name” volunteer project to recover women’s names in the collections introduced by For the Record in Recovering Women’s Names in DORIS’ Digital Collections. This work comes after months of research on statements written by other repositories, and feedback from DORIS staff.  

Harmful content refers to both description and audio or visual material that may contain, but is not limited to, outdated, inaccurate, offensive, violent, or graphic materials. This may include a wide range of content, from outdated and offensive racial terminology to images of crime scenes and deceased individuals. 

Our actions to address harmful content will increase public access to collections and take into account inclusion and equity goals. Outdated language can sometimes make content inaccessible as modern researchers who use current terminology may not receive positive results in their searches. Adding terminology that is in line with current language guidance in descriptions helps open additional points for research and access. Furthermore, using modern language is more inclusive because it considers how current communities prefer to be described.  

“Squaw” Cigar Store Figure [Statue of Indigenous Women], 1937. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.  

It is important to note that DORIS does not alter or remove language in original records. This will ensure historical context and viewpoints of the time period. For outdated creator or legacy description, catalogers may include additional description in brackets to provide context or create another access point for users. Researchers who encounter such content, in finding aids (accompanying descriptions of collections), blogs, photograph captions, and more can report it here: Harmful Content Feedback Form.  

Here is one example that illustrates how outdated descriptions may limit access and alienate communities. This photograph from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Writers’ Project collection was titled, “Indian Squaw” in the inventory originally created by WPA writers in the 1930s. “Squaw” is a phrase that is considered derogatory by some Indigenous communities. Additionally, while “Indian” may be used by some Indigenous peoples as a form of self-identification and in some legal instances, “Indian” in reference to Indigenous Peoples reinforces many negative historical connotations. It also invites confusion on whether one is referring to Indigenous Peoples or people from India. This title may prevent people from finding this image if they are using modern terminology, nor does it give a full picture of what is actually depicted in the image. Catalogers will distinguish between the creator description and their updates by putting new language in brackets. 

Seventh Avenue above 110th Street, Black strolling down avenue, shop signs, sanitation man picking up paper [Seventh Avenue above 110 Street; People walking down avenue, shop signs, sanitation man picking up paper]. Department of Sanitation photograph collection. New York City Municipal Archives. 

In another example, a picture in the Department of Sanitation photograph collection was originally titled: Seventh Avenue above 110th Street, Black strolling down avenue, shop signs, sanitation man picking up paper. To distinguish between the original creator and updated description, DORIS catalogers will add their new language in brackets: [Seventh Avenue above 110 Street; People walking down avenue, shop signs, sanitation man picking up paper]. When referring to Black people, one should use the adjective form and not the noun form because you are referring to people not a color. Additionally, this description was updated to include the word “People” as the original description did not mention people were walking at all.  

Researchers should keep in mind that these changes may not appear right away as this process can require extensive research, community feedback, and a balancing of staff resources. Additional challenges are that language is constantly changing, there are community conflicts on best practices, and weighing the need to provide access balanced with the safety and privacy of users. Despite this, if DORIS makes an evaluation that some content may be harmful based on community input, access to the content will still be available in other ways. Researchers and community members can still request to view content through the inventory.

Once again, user feedback is valued. If you come across harmful content in any of DORIS’ work, please submit your comments here: Harmful Content Feedback Form. 

References:

Fox, Violet. “List of Statements on Bias in Libraries and Archives Description.” https://cataloginglab.org/list-of-statements-on-bias-in-library-and-archives-description/.  

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). “Reparative Description Preferred Term: Black Person.” https://www.archives.gov/research/catalog/lcdrg/appendix/black-person. 

Vowel, Chelsea. “Just Don’t Call Us Late for Supper - Names for Indigenous Peoples.” Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis & Inuit Issues in Canada. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Highwater Press. 2016.

Looking for Yuri Kochiyama

For the Record articles have highlighted how to search for records of civil rights activist, Bayard Rustin, and queer activist, Marsha P. Johnson in Municipal Archives collections. This week, in honor of Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month, For the Record will spotlight some collections that feature Japanese-American political and civil-rights activist Yuri Kochiyama.  

Yuri Kochiyama was born May 19, 1921 and named Mary Yuriko Nakahara. She later took the name Yuri to connect with her Japanese heritage. In 1946 she married William (Bill) Kochiyama, a former soldier in the United States all-Japanese 422nd Regiment. Researchers are advised to take note of her several names when searching in Archives collections.   

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Kochiyama, Mary. Malcolm X assassination case file records. NY District Attorney NYC Municipal Archives. 

Possibly the first evidence of Kochiyama in the collections can be found in the New York District Attorney Malcolm X assassination closed-case file. It contains a document dated June 1964, noting that Kochiyama invited Malcolm X to speak in her Harlem apartment during a meeting for nuclear bomb survivors: “She has seen Malcolm X at her house in June/1964 where she had a meeting there on business for the “Pilgrimage of the Hiroshima Nagasaki World Peace Study Mission (A Communist Organization).”   

Index card with physical description of Mary (Yuri)Kochiyama. Nation of Islam Index. NYPD Intelligence Division Records. NYC Municipal Archives.

Kochiyama was especially passionate about organizing against nuclear proliferation and for civil rights because of her experiences as a young woman. During WWII, she and her entire family were forcibly removed and incarcerated in American concentration camps called “relocation centers.” Throughout WWII, over 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated; of those approximately 112,000 persons were incarcerated because of President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 from March to August 1942.  

Nearly 70,000  incarcerees were American citizens and others had lived in the United States for decades but were barred from gaining citizenship because of anti-immigrations laws like the Immigration Act of 1924 and “Alien Land Laws” of 1913. Kochiyama’s early experiences with discriminatory laws and hearing first-hand accounts from others in her community shaped her later work as an activist.  

Kochiyama and Malcolm X’s friendship continued beyond these meetings. Records in the NYPD Intelligence Division a.k.a. the “Handschu” collection index-card series documents her close ties to the Nation of Islam. The cards show NYPD surveillance of mosques, organizations, and individuals. There are several cards on Kochiyama, one provides a physical description. Other cards in the collection comment on her presence at Vietnam War-related moratorium in 1969, and a court appearance by H. Rap Brown and others in 1972.   

Mary Kochiyama, 1969. Index card series, NYPD Intelligence Division Records. NYC Municipal Archives.

Mary Kochiyama, 1972. Index card series, NYPD Intelligence Division Records. NYC Municipal Archives.

The Malcolm X assassination files also reveal that Kochiyama and her son, Bill Kochiyama, were present at the Audubon Ballroom where Malcolm X was speaking before he was assassinated. The District Attorney recorded Kochiyama’s account as a witness. 

Letter to NYPD from Philadelphia Police Department, July 30, 1971. Numbered Communications Files, NYPD Intelligence Records. NYC Municipal Archives.

Letter from NYPD to Philadelphia Police Department, September 21, 1971. Numbered Communications Files, NYPD Intelligence Records. NYC Municipal Archives.

Yuri Kochiyama at restaurant workers protest in Chinatown, NY, 1980. Photographer: Corky Lee. National Portrait Gallery; Smithsonian Institution © Estate of Corky Lee. 

Other evidence of NYPD surveillance of Kochiyama can be found in the Intelligence Division’s communication files. These records consist of police reports on individuals who were observed at rallies or providing updates on the investigation of an individual or organization. The files include correspondence from the Philadelphia Police Department to the NYPD confirming Kochiyama was under investigation in 1971.

Beyond her friendship with Malcolm X, Kochiyama dedicated most of her life to activism, helping to build solidarity between Asian-American and Black communities. Kochiyama was involved with a variety of organizations throughout her life from the Congress on Racial Equality (C.O.R.E.) to the Young Lords. In 1977 she participated in a takeover of the Statue of Liberty by the Young Lords. Perhaps further research in the NYPD organization files will yield additional documentation.

Yuri Kochiyama moved to Oakland, California in 1993. She continued her activism, strongly condemning the rise in Islamophobia after the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001. Yuri Kochiyama died on June 1, 2014, at the age of 93. 

Recovering Women’s Names in DORIS’ Digital Collections

Have you ever encountered a photograph on the Municipal Archives digital collections platform, where a woman is only identified by her husband’s name or her title, such as Mrs. Julius Ochs Adler or First Lady of Republic of Upper Volta? By many standards, this practice is considered outdated and it limits access for researchers. Additionally, this practice centers Western naming standards, where it is more common for women to take their husband’s last names.

Wife [Eva Sámano de López Mateos] and Daughter [Eva/Avecita Leonor López Mateos Sámano] of Mexican President Adolfo Lopez Mateos. Mayor Robert F. Wagner Collections. NYC Municipal Archives. 

As part of larger diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives, the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) is embarking on a project to recover women’s names and engage with NYC communities. The first Research-a-thon to Recover Women’s Names coincided with Women’s History Month. It was held earlier this week with participants zooming in from all over the United States. Twelve volunteers and three staff members used a variety of genealogical and primary resources such as census data, marriage announcements, and obituaries to help remediate 64 photograph descriptions.  

One example is highlighted by participant Taryn Brymn, who also volunteers as an interviewer for the Neighborhood Stories Project. In a photograph from the Mayor Robert Wagner collection, Taryn was able to identify two women, the wife and daughter of President Adolfo Lopez Mateos, as Eva Sámano de López Mateos [nee. Bishop] and Eva/Avecita Leonor López Mateos Sámano. Traditionally, Hispanic women do not always take the surname of their husband and if they did, they might add “de” between the maiden name and husband’s name, as Eva Sámano did.

Eva Sámano is Dead at 71. January 9, 1984. The New York Times.

Taryn was able to locate Eva Sámano’s name and some of her accomplishments, such as the founding of the National Institute for Infants, in her New York Times obituary. 

Taryn initially drew limited results for Sámano and Lopez Mateo’s daughter, but then she did a little more digging in Spanish with the search term, “Eva samano de lopez mateos y su hija.” This search yielded many more results. Taryn discovered the nickname of the President and First Lady’s daughter was Avecita or Ave through images from National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH).  

Another resource used by participants was find a grave, a community-sourced website of over 238 million death memorials. Here, Taryn was able to confirm the name of President Adolfo Lopez Mateos and Eva Sámano’s daughter was Eva Leonor “Avecita” López-Mateos Sámano.  

Eva Leonor “Avecita” López-Mateos Sámano. Find a Grave.

This project was inspired by similar initiatives at  the Seattle Municipal Archives, Chicago History Museum, and Columbia University Libraries. While this project does provide researchers with more access points and clarity by updating photograph descriptions, it is important to acknowledge some of the drawbacks. The legacy of record-keeping means that the project may continue to increase access to women who already had a level of visibility in society such as wealthy, white women or wives of officials.

There is also an unknown factor regarding how these women preferred to identify. Perhaps, some of these women liked being introduced by their husband’s full names and others might not have wanted Mrs. in their title at all. Either way the DEIA initiatives at DORIS will continue to explore other opportunities to provide broader access to the Municipal Archives collections, highlight underrepresented communities in our collections, and garner participation from surrounding communities. 

 Thank you to all the staff members and volunteers who made this event possible!