Since its founding in 1688, New Rochelle, NY has become “home” to great numbers of new immigrants and migrants from the deep South. Their stories, as similar in promise as they are varied in cultural details, are represented in a collection of oral history interviews from 1988 – 2013: New Rochelle: Diverse Voices, One Community.
The narratives of this collection provide powerful testaments of the centuries-old challenges of crossing geographical -- and cultural – borders. As this suburban-urban community continues attracting newcomers from all parts of the world, we hope that New Rochelle: Diverse Voices, One Community, will provide a springboard for conversations. The stories help us think about the common threads of immigrant/migrant experiences, the contributions that endure, and the impact recent immigration to New Rochelle may have on its future.
