Vietnamese history and oral storytelling are interwined. Listening to the stories and learning about first-hand accounts is essential in teaching history. This lesson entails different oral interviews and their transcripts with elders and community memebers of Asian decent. The idea behind this project was to bring light to different stories, to teach history in a different way. These interviews are personal, and instead of having a profesor or teacaher recall someone else's history for you, you're having a conversation with someone who actually experienced the history, someone with roots and connections to this history. There are 4 different interviews with Asian Americans ranging of ages, genders, experiences, etc. Seeing the diverse responses and a scope of answers brings to light the diversity and resilience of the Vietnamese American community of New York City.
About the Archivist
As I got older, I realize the weight of my identity and what it meant to be an Asian American, living in the South Bronx--the affiliations and preconvienced notions people made about me. Because the South Bronx is so multicultural, I felt willing and hungry to identify as Vietnamese, so that I found a space of cultural belonging. Everyone around me has solidarity, everyone is connected through their racial, ethnic, or cultural identity, while I was being told to set mine aside. I never wanted to assimilate to whiteness or fit into someone else's shoes. I just wanted to feel included and sound in my identity. Just like everyone around me.
Credits
Angelina Nguyen