Brooklyn Sister City Project Records
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The Brooklyn Sister City Project was founded in Brooklyn, New York during the late 1980s in order to educate people on the conditions of the Nicaraguan people during the Contra War of the Nicaraguan Revolution. The group's activities demonstrated their support of the Sandinista Front for National Liberation (FSLN) over the Contras, including their ongoing, personal relationship with their designated "sister city" Dan Juan del Rio Coco. The collection's materials date between 1985 and 1991 and include newsletters, meeting minutes, correspondence, conference materials, brochures, flyers, and clippings.
Biographical / Historical
The Brooklyn Sister City Project was founded in Brooklyn, New York during the late 1980s in order to educate people on the conditions of the Nicaraguan people during the Contra War of the Nicaraguan Revolution. Siding with the Sandinista Front for National Liberation (FSLN) rather than the Contras, the right-wing militant groups funded by the United States government since the Reagan administration, the organization formed a close relationship with Dan Juan del Rio Coco, a municipality in northern Nicaragua. Not only did the Brooklyn Sister City Project designate Dan Juan del Rio Coco as their "sister city," but the organization also sought to achieve their goals of peace and education through letter writing (to both community members and government officials), by sending local groups to their sister site, and by sponsoring visits of Nicaraguans in Brooklyn. The group also produced a newsletter and hosted a series of fundraising events, lectures, and exhibitions, including a memorial for Benjamin Linder, an American engineer who was killed by the Contras near the village of San José de Bocay in 1987.
Arrangement
This collection has not been arranged by an archivist. The materials are arranged in the order in which they were received from the donor.
Scope and Contents
The Brooklyn Sister City Project Records consist of materials from 1985 through 1991 the Brooklyn Sister City Project's connection to the municipality of Dan Juan del Rio Coco in northern Nicaragua during the Contra War of the Nicaraguan Revolution. The collection also documents the organization's support of the Sandinista Front for National Liberation (FSLN) at a time when the United States government was providing financial and military assistance to the opposing, right-wing militant group, the "Contras." Materials within the collection include newsletters, meeting minutes, correspondence, conference materials, brochures, and flyers. Also of significance are the clippings and memorial materials related to the death of American engineer Benjamin Linder, who was killed by the Contras near the village of San José de Bocay in 1987.
Subjects
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, created by Brooklyn Sister City Project, was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Brooklyn Sister City Project Records; TAM 706; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by John S. Berman in 2016. The accession number associated with this gift is 2016.065.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Materials were shelved upon arrival at Cooper Square in July 2016. During accessioning in December 2016, the collection was removed from its original binder and the materials - retaining the order in which they were donated - were transferred to acid-free folders. The materials were then placed in a half manuscript box and described by an archivist at the collection level.
