Meanings of October 27th

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Bard College, HAC, Attn: Tina Stanton, PO Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504-5000

The Meanings of October 27th is an oral history project that explores Pittsburghers’ experiences of and reflections on the October 27th, 2018 synagogue shooting that took eleven lives. The project’s narrators [interviewees], who reflect the full diversity of the Pittsburgh Jewish community as well as a group of non-Jewish Pittsburghers, are also invited to place these reflections into the context of their wider life stories. The goals of Meanings are 1) to develop an archival-quality oral history collection of audio-recorded interviews, and 2) to make that collection available to educators, historians, and the public to support community healing and bridge-building.

Listen to a short audio project intro

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Testimonials

I am grateful that I could share the story of how my experience with rescue and recovery in Israel allowed me to bring chesed [lovingkindness] to the victims of the shooting.
-Rabbi Elisar Admon, director of the chevra kadisha that prepared the victims of October 27th for burial according to Jewish tradition

I am so impressed with this project's intention to reflect the diversity of our community's voices, particularly underrepresented ones like those from the Asian American community. This inclusion is the start of a deeper discourse between us, opening the door for future collaborations and rich learning experiences for all Pittsburghers.
-Marian Lien, president of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA)-Pittsburgh Chapter and former executive director of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition

FAQs

What are the origins of the Meanings of October 27th?
Project creators and interviewers Aliza Becker and Noah Schoen began exploring an oral history project about the October 27th synagogue shooting in late 2018. After speaking at a community vigil and giving a dvar torah at her synagogue the week following the shooting, Aliza became interested in learning from the actual experiences and reflections of Pittsburghers on the ground. Noah was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and he saw an opportunity to offer healing to his communities there by inviting them to share their stories with the support of oral history’s ethical interviewing and methodological practices. Together we began imagining a community-based oral history project that would respect the stories and experiences of diverse Pittsburghers and invite wider communal engagement with the interviews.

How has the project progressed?
In January and February, we worked closely with oral historian Suzanne Snider to draft a project plan that was sensitive to trauma and ensured community needs were central. Snider, an expert on trauma-related oral history and program design, serves as an ongoing project consultant.

From February through July, we met with more than 50 Pittsburghers across the Jewish and non-Jewish Pittsburgh communities during three 10-day long trips and additional video calls. We listened to these community members speak about how they experienced October 27th and its ongoing impact on their lives. This information was critical in developing a project design sensitive to local dynamics.

In June, we convened the first meeting of a working group of Pittsburgh community leaders to discuss the vision of the project and invite their input. We consult regularly with this working group to ensure that project aims remain in tune with local needs.

From August 2019 - February 2020 we conducted seventy-five 1.5 - 3 hour interviews. We also convened three narrator (interviewee) gatherings, bringing together interviewees to reflect on the experience of the interview and connect with each other.

In September, January, and February we conducted public programs in New York and Pittsburgh using interview excerpts to stimulate discussion on issues ranging from antisemitism and racism to community safety and alliances between Jews and non-Jews.

Where will the Meanings of October 27th interview collection be archived?
In August, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Eric Lidji, director of the Rauh Jewish History Program and Archives in Pittsburgh, to serve as the home of the collection upon completion of the project (expected June 2020).

We have invested in processing interviews with a high-quality transcription service that overlays interview audio onto the written interview transcript. These interactive interview transcripts and audio will be available on-site at the Rauh and online for easy access and exploration.

How will the interviews be accessed and used?
Academics and leaders from multidisciplinary backgrounds will consult our archive: historians seeking to understand perceptions of antisemitism, psychologists studying how communities find healing and wholeness in the wake of violence, and Jewish communal leaders wanting to understand community members’ thoughts on security. The interviews are also a treasure for families and friends wanting to learn more about the personal histories of narrators.

Throughout the duration of the project, we will organize further narrator gatherings as well as a final interactive presentation to share some of the insights and findings of the collection with the community.

We have also begun conversations with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, the Community Day School (a local K-8 pluralistic Jewish school) and other educators and neighborhood groups about the possibility of developing curricula that incorporates interview excerpts. The members of our working group are exploring other local avenues to share the interviews, which may include anything from museum exhibitions and theatrical productions to community forums on issues raised in the interviews.

How is the project funded?
Initial start-up costs, including equipment, travel, training, and consultant fees, were funded through the generosity of family and friends. We invested considerable time and personal resources into the project up front because of the importance of capturing these stories before individual memory fades. Now that the project has launched, we are actively fundraising to complete the archival process for what we anticipate will be a collection of 100 transcribed interviews.

Questions? Email [email protected] for more information.