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oral history

Oral History at San Quentin Prison
by Cliff Mayotte (former Education Program Director at VOW) The Voice of Witness education team is always looking for opportunities to create deeper engagement and partnership with the communities represented in our book series, so …


10 Actions to End Solitary Confinement
Six by ten feet. That’s the average size of the cell in which tens of thousands of people incarcerated in the United States linger for weeks, months, and even decades in solitary confinement. With little …


Fighting Words: Stories from the New York Sanctuary Movement
by Jon Earle A bride and groom are married in chains. A mother prepares her daughters for life without her. Two prison friends sing, “Lord, give us a big heart to love, and a strong heart …


Inside an Immigrant Detention Facility
The topic of immigration has been a critical political issue since borders were built, yet immigrant voices continue to be excluded from these conversations and policymaking within the United States. In recent years, we’ve seen …


Oral History Projects from our 2017-18 Germanacos Fellows
Since 2015, the VOW Education Program’s Sharing History Initiative has supported passionate and underfunded teachers, storytellers, and community leaders in bringing social justice-based storytelling into their communities. In summer of 2016, the VOW Education Program …


An Oral History of Organic Farming
Our Education Advisory Board member Katie Kuszmar has been collaborating with one of the founders of California Certified Organic Farmers to preserve the history of the organic farming movement and honor the voices of its pioneers by collecting oral …


Resettlement Stories for World Refugee Day
A refugee’s story does not end once they’ve reached a host country. In fact, that is often just the beginning of their journey. On World Refugee Day, join us in honoring the courage of refugees by …


Our First San Francisco-Based Project!
We’re so excited about our first San Francisco-based VOW oral history project, Proyecto Santuario, a participatory, community-based project that explores the history of San Francisco as a “sanctuary city” through the voices of Central American immigrants and refugees. …