 | Voices of African Immigrants in Kentucky: Migration, Identity, and Transnationality Subjects: Africans -- Kentucky -- Interviews; Immigrants -- Kentucky -- Interviews; Refugees -- Kentucky -- Interviews; Africa -- Emigration and immigration; Kentucky -- Emigration and immigration; Transnationalism; Oral history -- Kentucky; Following historical and theoretical overview of African immigration, the heart of this book is based on oral history interviews with forty-seven of the more than twenty-two thousand Africa-born immigrants in Kentucky. From a former ambassador from Gambia, a pharmacist from South Africa, a restaurant owner from Guinea, to a certified nursing assistant from the Democratic Republic of Congo--every immigrant has a unique and complex story of their life experiences and the decisions that led them to emigrate to the United States. The compelling narratives reveal why and how the immigrants came to the Bluegrass state--whether it was coming voluntarily as a student or forced because of war--and how they connect with and contribute to their home countries as well as to the US. The immigrants describe their challenges--language, loneliness, cultural differences, credentials for employment, ignorance towards Africa, and racism--and positive experiences such as education, job opportunities, and helpful people. One chapter focuses on family--including interviews with the second generations--and how the immigrants identify themselves. Francis Musoni , born and raised in Zimbabwe, is associate professor of history at the University of Kentucky. He is the author of Border Jumping and Migration Control in Southern Africa (forthcoming). Iddah Otieno , born and raised in Kenya, is professor of English and African studies at Bluegrass Community and Technical College where she also directs the Kenya Exchange Program. She is the author of Kenyan Public Universities in the Age of Internationalization: Challenges and Prospects. Angene Wilson is professor emerita of education at the University of Kentucky where she chaired the secondary social studies program for twenty-nine years. She is the author of The Meaning of International Experience for Schools, Africa on My Mind: Educating Americans for Fifty Years, Living Peace Corps' Third Goal , and coauthor of Voices from the Peace Corps: Fifty Years of Kentucky Volunteers. Jack Wilson spent more than thirty-five years in public service, first with the US Peace Corps in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Fiji, and then in Kentucky's Natural Resources and Environmental Cabinet. He is coauthor of Voices from the Peace Corps: Fifty Years of Kentucky Volunteers. |
