R-1017 -- Cáceres Rodríguez, Andrés Jésus.
In this interview, interviewer Gabriella Montes learns about Venezuela’s recent history as experienced by her long-time friend, Andrés Cáceres. He describes the first ten years of his life in his city of origin, Caracas, Venezuela. He explains details about his family relationships, home life and school life as he grew up in the economic turmoil occurring in Venezuela since the 1940s. He shares his experience being a new student, his struggle in school in North Carolina, and how difficult this overall adjustment was. Andrés recounts that despite this struggle in the U.S., as well as Venezuela, he misses his home country, and mentions some of the happier moments he had back home and the friends and experiences he’s made here.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/29364">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
2023-03-14
No restrictions. Open to research
R1017_Audio.mp3
R-1014 -- Bautista, Elsi.
This interview was conducted in Spanish by Johana Bautista-Ayala with her mother, Elsi Bautista. Throughout the interview, Elsi tells us her family’s perspective and history on their migration experience from Honduras to the United States due to environmental factors, primarily the disaster caused by Hurricane Mitch. Elsi recounts much of this dramatic experience such as: the lack of information to prepare for what was coming and in the aftermath; the destruction of homes, loss of livestock, and other economic challenges; life sheltering at a school even after schools returned in session; the loss of community leadership, including the death of the governor; and the aid sent by the United States, much of which Elsi believes never reached the affected communities.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/29358">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
2023-04-18
No restrictions. Open to research
R1014_Audio.mp3
R-1015 -- Luna, Martin.
North Carolina resident Martin Luna recounts his experience moving to the United States from Jalisco, Mexico in 1985 as a recently-graduated food engineering student. Luna arrived to work at the Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, North Carolina over the summer as an international student worker. Throughout the interview he describes the importance of several interpersonal relationships that shaped his work experience and that created the opportunity for him to attempt to pursue graduate school at Clemson University. He references the language barrier as a recurring challenge in his U.S. education. He also describes the role mental health had in his experiences in the U.S. Luna reflects on his experiences in both Mexico and the U.S.’s education systems, and closes the interview describing the kinds of challenges current Latin American immigrant students face within education systems and how they compare to the ones he experienced.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/29328">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
2023-03-31
No restrictions. Open to research
R1015_Audio.mp3
R-1000 -- Valdez Place, Soraya.
Soraya Valdez Place is a Spanish Professor at Lenoir Rhyne University and the Community Outreach Specialist for the Catawba County Library system in Hickory, North Carolina. She is originally from San Salvador, El Salvador and first moved to the United States in 2004. Soraya tells the story of her life and explains what growing up was like for her in El Salvador. She reflects on the struggles she and her family faced and touches on the violence, natural disasters, and the rampant civil war that plagued her country. She shares the story of moving to the United States for the first time and the challenges of learning English and eventually, how she came to live in North Carolina. She also shares her experience of her time in the Peace Corp and serving abroad with her husband. Soraya speaks on the differences between life in North Carolina, specifically Catawba County, and life back in her home of El Salvador. Lastly, she touches on her work in Catawba County as a Spanish professor and a Community Outreach Specialist, serving as a bridge for the Spanish-speaking community. Soraya closes the interview by telling me about the different issues the Latinx community faces in Catawba County and her work to address these issues by creating workshops and classes through the local library system.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/29184">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
2022-02-10
No restrictions. Open to research
R1000_Audio.mp3
R-0997 -- García García, Isaías.
Isaías García García is a barber and local business owner of Barbería García, in Boone, North Carolina. He is originally from Totonicapán, Honduras and emigrated to the United States alone at the age of 16. Garcia, the youngest of nine siblings, explains what life was like for him growing up in Guatemala with his family. He shares the story of his migration journey, starting in his hometown of Totonicapán, traveling through Mexico, until he reached the United States-Mexico border. He describes what the entry process was like for him, mentioning that he believed entry would be feasible since he was a minor at the time. He recalls his first thoughts and emotions when he finally arrived to the United States as well as being held in a very cold place used at immigration facilities nicknamed “refrí” or iceboxes.[1] Isaías was later released to the custody of his brother-in-law.[2] He then shares his journey in North Carolina, detailing his experiences in high school and in achieving his dream of starting his own barber shop. He goes in depth about his dream of being a barber, the process of obtaining licenses, finding a location to rent, and how the Covid-19 pandemic affected his business. Closing out the interview, Isaías shares his thoughts on what resources would be the most helpful for him and other Spanish-speaking community members in Boone.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/29176">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
2022-03-06
No restrictions. Open to research
R0997_Audio.mp3
R-0990 -- Bridwell, Robert.
This interview was conducted by interviewer Alexandra Graham with interviewee Deacon Robert (Bob) Bridwell. The main focus of the interview is Deacon Bridwell’s responsibilities at St. Stephen Catholic Church. Much of his work in the church surrounds immigration services. He tells us about the services St. Stephen’s provides as well as what projects he personally works on. He shares about his long career of city planning and activism and talks about how demographic changes in Lee County (the county where he resides) have reshaped the needs of community members and therefore what services he works with. He talks about the biggest challenges facing immigrant families (majority Hispanic/Latino) in rural North Carolina and how his church is working to provide solutions and resources for those problems. He also discusses his involvement in the Building Integrated Communities initiative, a collaboration with the City of Sanford, Lee County, and the Latino Migration Project at UNC Chapel Hill. The interview, which took place in Deacon Bridwell’s office at St. Stephen Catholic Church, lasted about 37 minutes. Outside of his office, construction was going on to build a new addition to the church. There were construction noises throughout the interview, but it does not interfere with the ability to hear what was said.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/28600">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
2018-06-19
No restrictions. Open to research.
R0990_Audio.mp3
R-0988 -- Zaeem, Abu.
Abu Zaeem describes his position as the principal of Doris Henderson Newcomers School in Greensboro, North Carolina. He explains how the school serves immigrant and refugee students in grades three through twelve for one, two, or three semesters by helping them acclimate to English and the American school system before they are transitioned to their home public schools. He discusses services and strategies to help students who are dealing with trauma upon arriving to the United States. He shares several of the challenges of his work, including communicating with parents when there are language barriers and dropout rates among older students who want to work. He emphasized that while the Newcomers School is a great option for many families, some choose traditional schools because of location, age of other siblings, or other reasons. He shared the limitations of a small school for a growing population of students, and admitted that funding is consistently an issue. Finally, he emphasized that the work of the Newcomers School would be impossible without its teachers, who are invested in educating and advocating for students and their well-being every day.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/28597">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
2019-06-27
No restrictions. Open to research.
R0988_Audio.mp3
R-0991 -- Sánchez, Alba.
Alba Sánchez is the Immigrant Welcome Center Manager at the Latin American Coalition in Charlotte, North Carolina. She is originally from Costa Rica from a small town called San Rafael in the province of Heredia. She emigrated to the United States when she was twenty-six years old. In this interview, Sánchez explains what San Rafael was like, referring to the landscape of the region and the size of the town. She discusses her childhood and what life was like for her and her family living in Costa Rica and mentions that all of her family members still reside there. Sánchez mentions attending the University Nacional of La Heredia, one of the top schools in her state. She describes what her journey of coming to the United States was like and the challenges she faced once she arrived. She tells me about her drive and passion to learn English and how that was a major motivational factor for her once she was in North Carolina. Sánchez later explains her reasons for moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, and how she became the Immigrant Welcome Center Manager at the Latin American Coalition. She shares that she first became involved with the Coalition as a community member and later as a volunteer. She describes the multitude of services that the Latin American Coalition offers, such as citizenship workshops, ESL classes, translation services, and other resources for the community. She also touches on the biggest challenges that she sees the Latino community struggles with the most in Charlotte. Sánchez closes the interview by telling me about her immigration case and stating her love for this United States and her community.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/28588">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
2019-05-21
No restrictions. Open to research.
R0991_Audio.mp3
R-0994 -- Gamiño, Victor Canales.
Victor Canales Gamiño is the youth organizing director at Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF) at Duke University. In this interview, he discusses his migration to the United States from Mexico when he was only eight years old, his experiences working with farmworkers, SAF’s mission and initiatives, and he elaborates on the ways in which one can get involved to support farmworkers even during the Covid-19 crisis.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/28573">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
2020-04-17
No restrictions. Open to research.
R0994_Audio.mp3
R-0908 -- Thomas, Major Jamie.
Major Jamie Thomas is a member of the Sanford Police Department. Specifically, he is in charge of the U-Visa applications that this police department receives. The U visa is a United States visa for victims of crimes (and their immediate family members) who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse and are willing to assist law enforcement and government officials in the investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity. Additionally, Major Thomas actively participated in the Sanford Building Integrated Communities program from 2013-2017, a UNC Latino Migration Project initiative dedicated to improving local government communication, leadership, and services with Latino communities. As part of this process, Major Thomas built networks and relationships with non-profit organizations, churches and other local immigrant leaders. Throughout this interview, Major Thomas describes his specific role in the U-Visa application revision process and describes how the police department works closely with local organizations to support victims. Additionally, he discusses the ways that members of the Latinx community most likely learn about the U-Visa application process as well as improvements that the Police Department can make to spread awareness about the availability of these resources in the community.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/27575">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
2018-03-13
No restrictions. Open to research.
R0908_Audio.mp3