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Sokhom Tauch

[00:00:00] Sokhom: I am Sokhom Tauch and I’m executive director of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization in Portland Oregon.

[00:00:09] Dmae: And would you tell me a little bit what it means to be a refugee?

[00:00:14] Sokhom: I I was a refugee in 1975, came into Portland back then something August in 1975 and the tough thing is the change in culture but a shock in culture and also the language barrier that we had back in the ’75 and the job is to come up with different language skills. So we had hard time really get a real job other than picking strawberry, dishwashing at a restuarant or busboy at a restaurant. But that what my experience is and we didn’t even know how to take the bus at that time because no such thing like this organization back then. Read more...

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Yuri Kochiyama

:15 My name is Yuri Kochiyama, but when I was young, I just used Mary and my maiden name was Nakahara.

:34 I was born in San Pedro, California. I just want to say that my mother told me that every single Japanese child that was born in the harbor area. That one Japanese issei woman brought us all into the world because no Blacks, Mexicans, or Asians could have a baby in a hospital. I mean there was a lot of racism that we didn’t even know about.

RACISM. DESCRIBE LIFE BEFORE THE WAR. DID YOU FEEL AMERICAN
2:04 I think I did back then. They didn’t have the words Asian American. But our town was very much an immigrant town. Majority were Slavonian and Italian. Everybody was very nice and friendly to everyone. Helpful. I just went to a reunion and the people were still as warm and kind. I think I was lucky to grow up in San Pedro. Read more...

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Aqueela Sherrills, Activist, Campaigner Against Gang Violence

[00:00:00] Aqeela: As I am Aqeela Sherrils. I’m the executive director of the Community Self-determination Institute a former member of the Grape Street Crips out of Jordan down housing projects here in Watts.

[00:00:34] Miae:So tell me what were you doing when the La Riots broke out?

[00:00:40] Aqeela: What I was doing during the breakout of The L.A. riots was actually working with an organization that we co-founded with Hall of Fame where Jim Brown called Amer-I-Can. And at the time we were actually organizing in the neighborhood the peace treaty the peace treaty happened a few days before the actual Rodney King verdict. So we had actually took about 250 275 gang members ex-gang members from seven different neighborhoods throughout the city of Los Angeles down to City Hall to make a presentation to let them know that we had formed a peace treaty that we were coming together to atone for the violence that was perpetrated on ourselves and against each other and that we were making a commitment to stop. And a lot of the killing in the city and I think the following day was the Rodney King verdict. And you know basically what we were doing in the neighborhood was trying to stop individuals from looting and robbing and burning down the stores and different things like that because we were trying to let them understand that this is our community. This is where we live. And so whatever we destroy here you know we lose. Read more...