Collection Items

  • Audio Recording
    Hilary B. Wiagbe interview conducted by Marius Kothor and John W. McKerley, 2016-03-04. Hilary B. Wiagbe was born in Sasstown, Grand Kru County, Liberia in 1987. He was a "country boy," a Liberian not descended from returning former U.S. slaves. His father was a journalist. He talks about the Liberian Civil War (1989-2003) and how he became a war refugee in the Ivory Coast. After the first phase of the war, he moved to Monrovia, Liberia, where…
    • Contributor: Kothor, Marius - Wiagbe, Hilary B. - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Mario Ruiz Ronquillo interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2015-12-04. Mario Ruiz Ronquillo was born outside of Mexico City, Mexico in 1974. He was one of ten children whose work went to support his parents' subsistence farm. In the late 1980s, his brothers began to leave the farm in search of work in the United States. He followed in 1991, coming first to California, where he worked painting parts for airplanes and began learning…
    • Contributor: McKerley, John W. - Occupational Folklife Project - Ruiz Ronquillo, Mario
    • Date: 2015-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Day Day interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2016-02-18. Day Day was born to Burmese parents in a refugee camp in northwestern Thailand in 1991. His father was from the Karen ethnic group, and his mother was Kareeni; both were Christians. His father had been a soldier fighting in opposition to the Burmese central state's rule. In Thailand, his family worked as farmers, growing produce in or near the refugee camp. Work outside…
    • Contributor: Day, Day - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Zabdiel Morales Algandar interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2016-05-04. Algandar was born in Mazatlan, a city in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico. As a young child he moved with his mother and brother to San Luis Rio Colorado, on the Mexican border with Arizona. From family stories, he learned that his ancestors included people of French and Chinese background. His mother worked in a restaurant and in a clothing store before becoming a…
    • Contributor: Algandar, Zabdiel Morales - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Irma Concepcion Villa interview conducted by Irma M. Ramirez Villa, 2016-01-12. Irma Concepción Villa was born 1970 in Mexico to a family with roots in both farming and local politics. She and her 7 siblings grew up in San Isidro. At the age of 12 she began cleaning homes to contribute to family finances. She left school when she was 16 to work full-time. Though her aspirations to become a nurse were put on hold…
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Villa, Irma Ramirez - Concepcion Villa, Irma
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Otto L. Merida interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2016-05-05. Otto Merida was born in southwest Guatemala in 1961. He came from a family with (maternal) Mayan and (paternal) German roots. While his father's family were skilled workers (barbers and bakers), his mother's family had significant wealth in land. Disinterested in school, Merida moved to Guatemala City to work for his uncle, who was an "executive" at Colgate/Palm Olive. In 1984, an aunt (a…
    • Contributor: Merida, Otto L. - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    David Monnie Segbee interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2016-05-09. David Segbee was born in 1980 in the Bong County area of Liberia. He talks about growing up in Liberia in the 1980s and, how soon after the start of the Liberian Civil War, he fled to the Ivory Coast. Segbee describes refugee life in the Ivory Coast, the difficulty finding jobs, and how he had to supplement his income by selling United Nations'…
    • Contributor: Segbee, David Monnie - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Cornelius J. Davis interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2016-04-27. Cornelius Davis was born in Buchanan, Liberia, in 1978. He is a descendant of freed US slaves, although unlike others of his background, his family was not involved in Liberia's political system. His father was a laborer and he spent much time with his accountant uncle before the Liberian Civil War. He discusses Liberian farm life before the start of the war; the economic…
    • Contributor: Davis, Cornelius J. - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Komla Ewu interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2016-07-20. Komla "Sam" Ewu was born in Yokele, Togo. His grandfather was a well-known shoemaker; his father worked as a policeman under the post-colonial independence government before becoming a farmer. At a young age, he realized the importance of education and decided to become an English teacher. (Togo is part of Francophone Africa.) He explains that he was disappointed to find being a teacher in…
    • Contributor: Ewu, Komla - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Komi Tadjere interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2016-06-26. Komi Tadjere was born in Diguengue, a village in Togo. He explains that he pursued a degree in Sociology because he wanted to understand people and to help them organize to advance their interests. He did aid work and organizing in Togo, especially with the Catholic Church, but wanted to continue his education. Unable to do so in France--(Togo is a part of Francophone…
    • Contributor: Tadjere, Komi - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Tony M. Belekwa interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2016-12-05. Belekwa was born in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire) in 1984. His family came from the same area as longtime national president Joseph-Désiré Mobutu and enjoyed some privileges as a result. His father worked as a supervisor at a gas company and his biological mother's family was connected to the military. After his mother left and moved to Paris, Belekwa…
    • Contributor: Belekwa, Tony M. - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Simplice Mabiala Kuelo interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2016-12-12. Mabiala Kuelo was born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire) in 1985. His family were from Bas-Congo (now Kongo Central) province. His father worked in "label production," designing and producing textiles, and his mother worked at home. Both sides of his family had historical ties to land ownership and traditional leadership in the Bas-Congo region. He describes his family as members of…
    • Contributor: Mabiala Kuelo, Simplice - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Joel Mungongo Mbemba interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2016-12-24. Joel Mungongo Mbemba was born in Kinshasa, Congo. His father was a Human Resources Manager and his mother worked at home. His family took education very seriously and he developed an interest in technology. He went to high school and college in the Congo, learning architecture and engineering. Although his father had planned for him to finish his education in Great Britain, he decided…
    • Contributor: Mungongo Mbemba, Joel - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Gilberto Flores interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2016-12-09. In this interview, Gilberto Flores recounts his occupational history. He was born in Mexicali, Mexico, and came to the US with his mother after graduating from high school ca. 1977-78. He wanted to become a pilot but his family could not afford the training, so he came to the US to find employment. His father was already living in Los Angeles and he settled…
    • Contributor: Flores, Gilberto - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Gei Htang Htun interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2016-12-23. Gei Htang Htun ("Paul") was born in 1980 in Chin State, the "remotest" and "poorest" part of Burma. His family were subsistence rice farmers, and, like most Chin, were Christians (in Paul's case, Catholics). His father ensured that Paul had access to an education, finding ways for him to attend both government and parochial ("mission") schools. Paul was also able to attend the University…
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Htun, Gei Htang - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Thomas Lian interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2016-10-07. Lian was born in Burma in 1976. He is a member of the Chin ethnic group but grew up outside of the Chin State. His family was relatively prosperous, holding a "license" for a fishery and a farm, but they struggled with confiscations by representatives of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (the ruling party of Burma between 1988 and 2011). Seeking to…
    • Contributor: Lian, Thomas - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Krai Thay interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2016-09-06. Krai Thay was born in the Mae La refugee camp on the border between Burma and Thailand. Sometime before his birth, Thay's family, who were members of the Karen ethnic group, fled Burmese government repression and went to Thailand, where they eked out a living in the refugee camp. When his parents left for resettlement in Sweden, Thay stayed in the camp to continue…
    • Contributor: Thay, Krai - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2016-01-01
  • Audio Recording
    Ma Aye Myint interview conducted by John W. McKerley, 2017-01-20. Ma Aye Myint was born in the Rakhine state in Burma/Myanmar. She lived in a small village by the sea. Her family grew rice that they sold in a nearby city. She attended government schools and studied history. She hoped to gain a position in the government, but was left waiting for several years (a situation that she attributed to discrimination based on her…
    • Contributor: Myint, Ma Aye - Occupational Folklife Project - McKerley, John W.
    • Date: 2017-01-01