Organization
Stockton Cambodian Oral History Project
The Stockton Cambodian Oral History Project records and preserves the stories of the Cambodian community of Stockton, California.[1][2] Community members work on it with faculty and staff of the University of the Pacific.[3] Its aim is to teach the wider community about the part Cambodians have played in the recent history of Stockton and in the city's arts, religion and culture.[1][4]
History
The project set out to collect stories that might otherwise be lost, from people who lived through the killing fields, the flight to refugee camps and the move to new lives in the United States. It tells that history as one of strength, resilience and empowerment as well as suffering.[1] Many of the stories tell of escape from the regime of Pol Pot. The project also aims to teach the public, including younger Cambodian Americans, about the genocide, and to give survivors a safe space to reflect on their trauma.[5]
Its partners have included the University of the Pacific, Delta College and the San Joaquin County Historical Society.[1] Other partners have included local schools and the Asian Pacific Self-Development and Residential Association (APSARA).[5]
In early 2013 Katie Combs was working on a short film for the project. Its participants talked about their families' histories during the Khmer Rouge years and about keeping music, song and other art forms alive, and the footage included Stockton's Cambodian New Year celebration.[6] That year the project asked the Documentation Center of Cambodia for historical footage, and a local screening was planned.[6]
Work
The project was planned as a public-domain oral history. Alongside the interviews it included a short documentary, an exhibit of artifacts and photographs, presentations at schools and community events, and a multimedia website.[1] Interview recordings and audio and video footage were to be kept in the institutional archives of the University of the Pacific and the Historical Society, and shared through an online digital archive.[1]
The project's Vimeo channel holds three works:[1]
- Stockton Cambodian Oral History Project Trailer (July 2012)
- Portraits of the Diaspora - Pete Pin Slideshow (May 2013)
- Rithi Khieu Interview - Part 3 (January 2014)
Related projects
STOCKTONSpeaks!, another oral history effort in Stockton, collected coming-of-age stories from nine ethnic communities, Cambodians among them, across three generations. It planned to share them through panels, a traveling display, a website archive, teaching guides and school and library lessons, to support dialogue among the city's communities.[7]
Leadership
- Elizabeth Roberts, director (2018), also a copy editor for The Record in Stockton[8]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Vimeo, Cambodian Oral History Project (2014-01-14)
- ↑ FamilySearch Wiki, San Joaquin County, California genealogy
- ↑ Stockton Cambodian Oral History Project, Facebook page
- ↑ The Cambodian Oral History Project (BYU), Related projects and books
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 BookBrowse, Cambodians in Stockton, California (August 2021)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Documentation Center of Cambodia, 2013 quarterly report, p. 36
- ↑ scholarlycommons.pacific.edu, About STOCKTONSpeaks! (2016-07-26)
- ↑ The Gospel Coalition, Elizabeth Roberts (2018-12-11)