About the Project
|
Why do people from all corners of the Earth seek refuge in America?
We are living amidst the single largest migrant and refugee crisis since the end of the Second World War. The Pittsburgh Refugee Stories Oral History Project aims to understand the refugee crisis from individuals who have survived it. Understanding the condition of settled refugees in America provides a unique socio-cultural lens on our identities and values as Americans, refugees, Africans, students, workers, families, and others. This oral history project attempts to partner with refugees from Africa to better understand experiences, values, and identities in ways that will be accessible to participants, their families, and communities as full partners. This initiative was birthed out of a class project for our Duquesne University master's course in oral history methods, and builds on a foundation established in part by such initiatives as “Extended Lives: The African Immigrant Experience in Philadelphia” by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Our goal is to turn this project loose as a sustainable initiative in the Pittsburgh African community. Narrators are the true owners of these histories. As Americans, Africans, refugees, students, narrators, and interviewers, we have partnered to interpret the untold story of African refugees in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. |
