During winter term 2016, two OSU student activists Mai Xee Yang and Nicthé Verdugo worked with Charlene Martinez, Associate Director of Integrated Learning for Social Change within Diversity & Cultural Engagement, on a project entitled Voices Without Borders for their Arts and Social Justice Practicum course. For more information, see the OMA blog: http://wpmu.library.oregonstate.edu/oregon-multicultural-archives/2016/03/19/voiceswithoutborders/, Interview Summary: Part 1 of the interview begins with project participant introductions and with Verdugo explaining the interview purpose and structure. The purpose is to bring together the Hmong and Latino/Chicano communities to speak about the stories behind their families coming to the United States. The interview structure is for each person to have four minutes to share their story, followed by an opportunity for artistic expression, and closing with a reconvening to reflect on the stories shared and artwork created. The participants Alejandra Mendoza, Lorena Ambriz, Guadalupe Garcia, Warren Wang, Gina Chang, and Nitché Verdugo then share their parents’ immigration stories, their connections to their race/ethnicity, and reflections upon their own identities. In Part 2 Mai Xee Yang and Natalia Fernández share their family immigration stories and how they have shaped their lives. Audio file available via MediaSpace: https://media.oregonstate.edu/media/t/0_8rt11i4v, Project Participant Bios: Alejandra Mendoza was born in Fresno, CA and raised in Boardman, OR, and is majoring in Mathematics; Lorena Ambriz was born in Mexico, raised in Eastern Oregon, and is majoring in Sociology; Guadalupe “Lupe” Garcia is from Salem, OR, and is majoring in Human Development and Family Sciences; Warren Wang is from Portland, OR, and is majoring in Biochemistry/Biophysics; Gina Chang is from Portland, OR, and is majoring in Psychology; Nitché Verdugo is from Southern California and Mexico and is majoring in Ethnic Studies with a focus on Chicanx/Latinx Studies; Mai Xee Yang is from Portland, OR, and is earning a Bachelors in Fine Arts. Natalia Fernández is from Tucson, AZ, and is an archivist. Mendoza, Ambriz, Garcia, Verdugo, and Yang are members of M.E.Ch.A. (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán). Wang and Chang are members of the OSU Hmong Club.
The participants of the focus group discusses their involvement in the creation of Multiracial Beavers at OSU as students, staff, and faculty. They talk about how their experiences in Multiracial Beavers changed their lives and what the most exciting part of forming Multiracial Beavers was. The group discusses what their experiences in Oregon as multiracial people were like and how it differed from the places they were from. They conclude by sharing their hopes for the future of Multiracial Beavers and multiracial work on college campuses., OSU Multiracial Beavers Oral History Project, 2016-2017 http://wpmu.library.oregonstate.edu/oregon-multicultural-archives/2017/08/04/multiracial-beavers/
Sofia Baum and Kim McAloney discuss how they identify as multiracial people and how this identity has affected them throughout their lives. They discuss how other people related to their identities as they grew up through to the present day. Kim McAloney discusses growing up in California and moving to Georgia as a mixed race black woman. Sofia Baum discusses her life as a Jewish Mexican. They talk about how they related to their identities as they have aged and how their identities have changed over the years., OSU Multiracial Beavers Oral History Project, 2016-2017 http://wpmu.library.oregonstate.edu/oregon-multicultural-archives/2017/08/04/multiracial-beavers/
Erich Pitcher interviews Kali Furman about her involvement with the Multiracial Beavers Oral History project. She discusses how she met Charlene Martinez, and how their relationship developed. She also discusses growing up in a predominantly white and religious community as an outsider due to her parents' marital status and atheism., OSU Multiracial Beavers Oral History Project, 2016-2017 http://wpmu.library.oregonstate.edu/oregon-multicultural-archives/2017/08/04/multiracial-beavers/
The group discusses how they identify as multiracial people and how that has affected them in their lives as well as during their time on campus at OSU. They discuss how they are perceived and treated based on their race. They also discuss how connected or disconnected they feel from their cultures. Language is brought up often as an important factor in feel as if they belong vs not belong. They discuss some of the difficulties of bringing their multiple ethnic identities into interactions with other people who aren’t multiethnic as well as some of the privileges that are assigned to them based on skin tone. They also talk about how similar their experiences are and how grateful they are to have a space in which they can be multiethnic people. They end the discussion by writing down their name and a word they feel that they are on an index card which they share with the group., OSU Multiracial Beavers Oral History Project, 2016-2017 http://wpmu.library.oregonstate.edu/oregon-multicultural-archives/2017/08/04/multiracial-beavers/
Vanessa Johnson and Jonathan Stoll discus how they identify as multiracial people and how this identity as affected them throughout their lives. They discuss how other people related to their identities as they grew up through to the present day. Vanessa Johnson discusses growing up as a multiracial woman and how separated she became from her mother's native language, Spanish. Johnathan Stoll talks about his search for identity growing up and how disconnected he felt from his mother's heritage. They both discuss coming to Corvallis and finding community there. They talk about how their identities of changed over the years., OSU Multiracial Beavers Oral History Project, 2016-2017 http://wpmu.library.oregonstate.edu/oregon-multicultural-archives/2017/08/04/multiracial-beavers/
The group interviewees share their names and identities before talking sharing stories about belonging as people with mixed African American heritage. They discuss how they are viewed based on skin tone and how they are constantly perceived as either being not black enough or not white enough because of that. They also discuss the value of having a group to identify with. They move on to discussing the differences between where they grew up and OSU in terms both of ethnic makeup and how they were treated. They talk about micro aggressions they have experienced in their lives here as well. The group discusses how multiracially conscious different spaces at OSU are; the culture centers vs other places on campus. They close the discussion out by writing down messages on index cards and sharing them with each other., OSU Multiracial Beavers Oral History Project, 2016-2017 http://wpmu.library.oregonstate.edu/oregon-multicultural-archives/2017/08/04/multiracial-beavers/
Charlene Martinez and Tara DeMaderios discuss how they identify as multiracial women, how that identity has changed over time, and how other people interact with them based on their racial and ethnic identities. They discuss their relationship with activism and motherhood. Tara DeMaderios discusses her internship with Charlene Martinez., OSU Multiracial Beavers Oral History Project, 2016-2017 http://wpmu.library.oregonstate.edu/oregon-multicultural-archives/2017/08/04/multiracial-beavers/
Durden, Earnel, February 18, 2014. Durden discusses his high school years in Los Angeles as an African American and rising football player; recruitment and experiences as a student, African American, and athlete at Oregon State University; his relationship with Tommy Prothro as a player and assistant coach; his various coaching experiences at Compton Junior College, Long Beach State University, UCLA, and for the Rams; and a brief description of his children's sports careers. [Interview conducted by Dwaine Plaza in connection with an event focusing on the desegregation of OSU football. Interview Audio: http://media.oregonstate.edu/media/Earnel+Durden+Oral+History+Interview/0_5cvqw5cu Related Materials: OSU Football Desegregation Event: http://wpmu.library.oregonstate.edu/oregon-multicultural-archives/2014/02/20/osu-football-desegregation-event/
Trujillo, Juan, October 29, 2014. This interview begins with Juan Trujillo’s background, including where he was raised and the background of his parents. Trujillo then discusses his education from high school to college at BYU and then in Texas. He also mentions several of his past mentors before stating his reasons for choosing to apply for a job at Oregon State University. After this, he details the past job duties he has held and his current position as assistant professor in the School of Language, Culture, and Society. The classes he teaches and has taught range from Spanish linguistics, to English linguistics, to the Spanish Learning Community class, to DPD courses. Staying with the theme of OSU, Trujillo notes several people of importance from the university. To focus on diversity at OSU, Trujillo chronicles the changes in diversity at the university, the failures of the current OSU administrative bureaucracy to effect change, the cultural centers, his role in supporting faculty of color, and his recommendations for a more diverse campus. Trujillo highlights the lack of access to resources that people of color face at OSU and in Corvallis due to its limitations as a small community. Then, speaking on a national level, Trujillo talks of the racism and wage disparity that many minorities face. The interview transitions into a more personal tone when Trujillo relays his decision to obtain a PhD, his recognition of his ethnic background, his production of a short film documentary regarding gay Mormon experiences, and his expressions through writing. To end the interview, Trujillo highlights his challenges at the university in regards to receiving tenure as well as noting his accomplishments. [Interview conducted by Buddy Terry, Reilly Quinn, and William Rowley as part of the Fall 2014 U-Engage ALS 199 “Untold Stories: Histories of People of Color in Oregon” OSU Faculty/Staff Oral History Project compiled to create the digital book Untold Stories: Oral Histories of Faculty & Staff of Color at Oregon State University. Video available online.