�������޹�����Ʒ

�������޹�����Ʒ’s Power + Place Collaborative brought together community members on Dec. 5 for a storytelling and dialogue event at Elon Community Church, aiming to record, preserve, present, and celebrate stories from and about Alamance County’s many diverse communities.

Students within the human studies program course “Groups and Communities” and the global geography course “Global Migrations” collaborated with the African American Cultural Arts and History Center, CityGate Dream Center, Elon Power + Place Collaborative, the Alamance Remembrance Coalition, Preservation Burlington, the Burlington Masjid, Elon First Baptist Church and Burlington First Baptist Church to present interviews with members of the Alamance County community.

The Power + Place Collaborative is a community partnership between the African American Cultural Arts & History Museum, �������޹�����Ʒ faculty and students, Burlington Recreation and Parks, Alamance County Libraries and other diverse faith-based community partners and cultural organizations. Since the fall of 2020, the Collaborative has led a community-based oral history and storytelling initiative.

“Our vision is to involve students with community members in a better understanding of how this place we call home came to be and trying to create practices for a more inclusive community,” said Sandy Marshall, associate professor of geography.

Students within the human studies program course “Groups and Communities” and the global geography course “Global Migrations” presented their interviews with key members of Alamance County. Through engaging tales of how these storytellers defied society norms and personal expectations with love, prayer and community, this event aimed to promote understanding for all.

“As an educational institution in the county, we want to work to build understanding across our community,” said President Connie Ledoux Book. “There is nothing more powerful than an understanding of each other as we work together to reach common goals and vision for the future of our county.”

Son of the South

Students introduced Ricky Hurtado, former North Carolina state representative, as their first storyteller. Hurtado told of his parents coming to America in 1980 from Ecuador, South America, not looking for the American dream but rather to escape the civil war occurring at the time. His parents traveled from their home country to Mexico City in the trunk of a car with the help of others.

“For them, that was the beginning of our American story,” Hurtado said.

He grew up in a Spanish-speaking household in a predominantly black neighborhood inside a predominantly white town. Although he appreciates the diversity he was exposed to, he reflected that some of his most hurtful memories are of him being isolated because of his background.

“I remember a teacher cornered me in elementary school asking what my shirt said,” Hurtado refers to a purple shirt he wore that read, “Dios bendice esta casa,” or God bless this home. “I remember her being upset that I dared to wear a shirt that had something other than English on it.”

As Hurtado grew up, continuing his education at Princeton University, he studied the history of North Carolina and its public policy, realizing he was “a son of the South.” Despite the discriminating moments in his home state, he realized if anyone was going to fight for North Carolina, it was going to be him. As the first and only Latino member of the North Carolina General Assembly, Hurtado represented much of the Latin community in North Carolina, regardless of their district, because he was the only one who could speak Spanish.

Land of Opportunity 

“Not everyone who crosses the border illegally or undocumented is bad,” said Patty Holmes, who shared her original plan to come to the U.S. for only one year to save money and return to Mexico as an entrepreneur. To make the journey, Holmes had to separate from her daughter because she was too young to walk the long hours.

“The one thing that kept me going was the sky. The sky was silky, and the stars were so bright,” she said.

Holmes decided to see the beauty of her journey through the pain of not being with her daughter and pregnancy complications because she wanted to cross into the “land of opportunity.” By the end of her journey, Holmes was reunited with her daughter and settled in Graham, North Carolina. Twenty-five years later, she is the CEO of her own editorial and entertainment company, Ascending333 LLC, and author of “Un Sueño Sin Fronteras” (A Dream without Borders).

“A lot of times when we look at folks that are not like us, we go by stereotypes. And we know that is dangerous,” said James Shields, manager at the African American Cultural Arts and History Center.

Community Cares for All, All Cares for the Community 

“The community, we used to call it the village back then, we took care of one another. If something happened to one of us, it happened to all of us,” said Donnell Neal, another storyteller who spoke of finding Christ and community at Elon First Baptist Church after the loss of his mother. Neal had the chance to meet and dance with James Brown as a child at a talent show. Brown told Neal, “I don’t want nobody to give me nothing; just open up the door, and I’ll get it myself.”

“I understood that,” Neal said. “That meant that I had to go and do what I needed to do to keep surviving through life.”

James Brown then released his hit song, “Don’t Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing,” three months after his conversation with Neal. Despite facing familial problems as a child, Brown’s conversation blessed Neal with knowing that there is a life worth living outside of pain and loss. Neal appreciates all the assistance he received from “the village” and his church and continues to serve his community to continue the tradition of “the village looking out for each other.”

Throughout the celebration, local businesses and social change organizations had tables representing who they were and their goals for the community. Attendees participated in several table talks where they shared their opinions and insights on the previous story, trying to make a connection to their own experiences and how the stories represent the greater community.

In his story, “Checkpoint to Community,” Rasheed Adbul reflected on his childhood experiences in a small town 10 minutes away from Ramallah, Palestine, known for its checkpoint.

“It was a struggle; sometimes they would close [the checkpoint], and we couldn’t go to school. There are a lot of memories, just from that one road because it was there for years,” Abdul said.

Abdul’s mother wanted to remove him from the political issues happening in their home country and to have more opportunities, so Adbul moved to the US when he was 17. Adbul wanted to call Burlington his home, so he got more involved, including with the youth group at Burlington Masjid. Having come near the West Bank and still having family in the area following the Oct. 7 crisis, he joined “Healthcare Workers for Palestine,” organizing rallies and asking representatives to order a ceasefire.

“From my perspective, this is a small community, so I have the opportunity to have a bigger impact,” Abdul said.

All of these stories and more are archived as oral histories that are available to the public and will be expanding into North Carolina state archives to make sure these stories are not lost.