"The Fires: Hoboken 1978–1982," in partnership with the Hoboken Historical Museum, offers a poignant lesson in resilience, community strength, and the power of collective response to urban challenges. The project sheds light on the devastating fires that swept through Hoboken during the specified period, serving as a historical lens into a community's ability to overcome adversity.
Through this collaboration, we learn the importance of documenting local history, as it preserves the collective memory of a community and fosters a sense of identity. The fires, while destructive, became a catalyst for community mobilization, demonstrating the capacity for solidarity in times of crisis.
The project also underscores the need for proactive urban planning and fire prevention measures. Understanding the historical context allows for informed decision-making to create safer and more resilient urban environments.
Ultimately, "The Fires" emphasizes the enduring spirit of community and the lessons it imparts about the shared responsibility of preserving and learning from our collective past for a more resilient and informed future. -Dr. PetrosinoCentro's Directora is Dr. Yomaira C. Figueroa-Vásquez, an Afro-Puerto Rican writer, teacher, and scholar who was born and raised in Hoboken. In addition to serving as CENTRO's Directora, she is a Professor of Africana, Puerto Rican & Latino Studies at CUNY Hunter.
The exhibition, first installed at the Hoboken Historical Museum, features the work of Christopher López, a Puerto Rican Lens-Based Artist, Educator, and Public Historian.
Dr. Figueroa-Vásquez expounds, "The Fires: Hoboken 1978-1982 is a multidisciplinary show that surfaces the living histories of the fires and arsons that transformed the city of Hoboken from the 1970's-1980's. Through a violent cocktail of intimidation, greed, corruption, and indifference, over 50 Hoboken residents, mostly children, lost their lives in fires that ravaged the city during the era of post-industrial urban renewal. Arriving four decades after the apex of the fires, photographer Chris López, a Bronx native of Puerto Rican parentage, critically engages the afterlives of arson, displacement, and dispossession. Unlike the historic and well documented history of fires in the Bronx, very few photographers captured images of the arsons in Hoboken and even fewer scholars have studied the phenomenon. The existing archive is deeply indebted to the work of journalists, the painstaking work of community organizers, and a few documentary filmmakers who captured the terror, uncertainty, and destruction of that time period. In this context, The Fires represents the first exhibit of its kind to visit this history alongside those who were most deeply impacted."
We encourage everyone to visit this powerful exhibit, which will be displayed at the Silberman School of Social Work in El Barrio, located at 2180 3rd Ave. Visiting hours are Mondays-Fridays 10am-5pm.
