March 23, 2007
Nuestras Historias, Nuestros
Sueños /
Our Stories, Our Dreams: Latino Immigrants in North Carolina
As border crossings, undocumented immigration, and related labor
issues continue to define debate in the national political arena,
the perspectives of those who have uprooted their livelihoods and risked
their lives to come to the United States are seldom heard.
Through the collaborative project Nuestras
Historias, Nuestros Sueños
/ Our Stories, Our Dreams: Latino
Immigrants in North Carolina, the
Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University and Student
Action with Farmworkers (SAF) are collecting stories about the
experiences of Latino farmworkers and their families, illuminating
their reasons for immigrating and the obstacles they face once they
arrive in the United States. In particular, this project focuses
on immigrant farmworkers’ dreams for their children, especially
their educational aspirations, and on some of the barriers migrant
youth encounter as they try to pursue higher education.
Incorporating documentary photographs and recorded interviews, the
project will produce a traveling exhibition, an accompanying publication,
a multimedia Web site, and radio programming. By using the documentary
arts to bring the voices of Latino migrant youth and their families
to the forefront, the project will invoke a better understanding
of why these immigrants have chosen to come to the U.S. and what they experience once they get here.
The project, which began in 2006 and will continue through 2008,
involves undergraduate students, students from farmworker families,
interns from across the country, advocates for farmworkers, university
faculty, and seasoned documentarians.
GET INVOLVED
We are looking for additional stories about Latino immigrants in
North Carolina and their educational aspirations. Whether you would
like to share your own stories, use documentary tools to collect
family narratives, or provide financial support for the project,
please contact SAF at 919-660-3652 (www.saf-unite.org)
or CDS at docstudies@duke.edu.
banner image:
Photograph by Christopher Sims
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