This is a guide to finding and gathering clues to places which have been erased; neighborhoods and communities who were not included in archives during their time, and whose traces we can find mostly through the in-between glimpses, the cracks and gaps, the unsaid and the hidden away. Most of what we find through this process is not the real story. It’s the selective forgetting, overwriting, and reshaping of histories, despite which we will try to see people, their spaces, and the things they cared about.
(This part of the guide is also available in video form, embedded above.)
Since the Research part of this guide is quite long, I’ve broken it into subsections:
- Introductory blog post
- Questions - What questions should you be asking before embarking on your project?
- Searching for images
- Mapping photos
- Tracking photos
- Bibliography
- Image collection (selected public domain images)
A reconstruction of the Empire Theater, facing Providence's Chinatown in 1914, on a rainy evening.
As you begin your research, remember: this project, and the relational reconstruction methodology I envision, is focused on memory, remembrance, and personal relationships to histories. It is not a work of history or formal archiving (see "Is this a precise historic recreation?" in the FAQ), but a way for us to reckon with the past and its meanings to us today and in the future, in personal terms.
Think of this as a journey through these materials which you can chart with love, perhaps guiding your community around the hazards and pitfalls of the archival lens, to be close with – to share space with – histories and spaces which we often must glimpse through the cracks.
It's a meditation, the searching. Handling these artifacts with tenderness. Not picking them apart like meat from a bone or gems from the soil. Gathering them together with gentle hands. Healing yourself as you glimpse them. Giving them recognition, and rest.
To those beginning to look through these histories: please take care of yourself. In this work, you’ll come across material which will be painful to read, including violence, but also the diminution of violence – even from present day historians and archivists. There will be people who don’t understand this pain or how they can add to it. Take breaks and deep breaths. Listen to something calming. The kind of justice we seek in relational reconstruction is through remembrance and connection. It may be someone else’s important work to hold themselves accountable for these acts. It may even be yours on another occasion, but our goal here and now is to see beyond those painful parts to try to connect with people’s lives; people who might be your ancestors, or who walked a path your ancestors would later. (Also: see this episode of NPR’s Life Kit: Connect with your ancestors 
)
When I need to take a break and heal, I like to lay down on the floor and relax each part of my body, one at a time. Sometimes I'll listen to music, or try to picture my own ancestors; feeling their supportive presence "at my back" can be calming and strengthening. Find a practice which works for you, and remember that your work will be stronger the more you can approach it whole.