Our guest today is Tamar Boyajian, who acted as program coordinator at the American Civic Association until summer 2024. Tamar is of Armenian heritage and miigrated to the United States from Lebanon. In this episode, Tamar shares with us her journey of migration, and the many ways in which the ACA helps immigrants in Broome county to celebrate their cultures, and come together as one diverse community. Have you wondered how you can help the ACA? Tamar tells us the best ways to contribute to this non-profit at the end of the episode.

This podcast is supported by Humanities New York, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Centre for Civic Engagement, Department of English, Asian and Asian American Studies, Institute for Asia and Asian Diasporas at Binghamton University. In partnership with the American Civic Association and the Tenement Museum.

For more information visit our Website: https://www.immigrantswakeamerica.com/

For more information about the America Civic Association visit: https://americancivic.com/

Instagram: @immigrantswakeamerica
X: @ImmigrantsWake

Immigrants Wake America is back with a new season titled “Hidden Heroes in a Small Town”. During this season we will get to know the staff and case workers at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, NY. A non-profit organization whose mission is to help refugees and immigrants start a new life while preserving their ethnic and cultural diversity. This six-episode installment showcases the amazing work and journeys of migration of the people “behind the scenes”.

Goretti shares with us her arduous and inspiring journey of migration and re-migration. She also sheds light on the variety of struggles immigrant women go through when they move to America. Goretti is also the inspiration for the conceptualization of Season II!

This podcast is supported by Humanities New York, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Centre for Civic Engagement, Department of English, Asian and Asian American Studies, Institute for Asia and Asian Diasporas at Binghamton University. In partnership with the American Civic Association and the Tenement Museum.

For more information visit our Website: https://www.immigrantswakeamerica.com/

For more information about the America Civic Association visit: https://americancivic.com/

Instagram: @immigrantswakeamerica
X: @ImmigrantsWake

Immigrants Wake America is back with a new season titled “Hidden Heroes in a Small Town”. During this season we will get to know the staff and case workers at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, NY. A non-profit organization whose mission is to help refugees and immigrants start a new life while preserving their ethnic and cultural diversity. This six-episode installment showcases the amazing work and journeys of migration of the people “behind the scenes”.

Our guest today is Aye Aye Mar. Aye Aye was an immigration case worker at the ACA through 2024. In this episode, Aye Aye shares with us many aspects of her complex journey of migration from a refugee camp in Thailand to the US. She also talks about her work helping immigrants and refugees at the American Civic Association.

This podcast is supported by Humanities New York, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Centre for Civic Engagement, Department of English, Asian and Asian American Studies, Institute for Asia and Asian Diasporas at Binghamton University. In partnership with the American Civic Association and the Tenement Museum.

For more information visit our Website: https://www.immigrantswakeamerica.com/

For more information about the America Civic Association visit: https://americancivic.com/

Instagram: @immigrantswakeamerica
X: @ImmigrantsWake

Immigrants Wake America is back with a new season titled “Hidden Heroes in a Small Town”. During this season we will get to know the staff and case workers at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, NY. A non-profit organization whose mission is to help refugees and immigrants start a new life while preserving their ethnic and cultural diversity. This six-episode installment showcases the amazing work and journeys of migration of the people “behind the scenes”.

Edward Marte was a caseworker at the ACA until 2023, where he worked helping immigrants and refugees settle in Broome County. Edward, an immigrant himself, shares with us the difficulties he encountered as a young person in a new country, and the ways in which he tirelessly gives back to the community both in the US and in the Dominican Republic. Edward also speaks about his experience with the Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute, with which he has often collaborated in different charity and solidarity programs.

This podcast is supported by Humanities New York, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Centre for Civic Engagement, Department of English, Asian and Asian American Studies, Institute for Asia and Asian Diasporas at Binghamton University. In partnership with the American Civic Association and the Tenement Museum.

For more information visit our Website: https://www.immigrantswakeamerica.com/

For more information about the America Civic Association visit: https://americancivic.com/

Instagram: @immigrantswakeamerica
X: @ImmigrantsWake

Immigrants Wake America is back with a new season- “Hidden Heroes in a Small Town”. We continue our mission of creating space for immigrant and refugee storytelling, but this time we focus on the personal stories of immigration caseworkers and staff at the American Civic Association in upstate New York, founded in 1939. The staff works tirelessly to resettle refugees, asylees, and immigrants, and the ACA serves as a community home that is utilized by both newcomers and American citizens. Notably, the majority of the staff turn out to be immigrants themselves, or descendants of families who immigrated, with remarkable personal journeys across borders and cultures. Once outsiders, and in some ways still are, these immigrants refashioned their lives and creatively reimagined their possibilities by serving the civic and cultural needs of the local community. Our focus on the stories of the ACA is a testament to a living space that is largely hidden - a site of public trauma and multicultural resilience. The year 2024, when this season is released, is also the fifteenth anniversary of one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history, when thirteen people were shot dead at the ACA during a class on citizenship in 2009. By introducing ACA voices at this moment via a podcast, this season honors the resilience of a community and the people who serve it. Made possible by support from Humanities New York.

Our guest in this episode is Laila Hernandez, Deputy Director of the American Civic Association in Binghamton NY. Laila shares her journey as a remarkable woman wearing many hats - as an immigration caseworker accredited by the department of justice, as the chief mentor for her busy staff, as an educator for student interns, as a mother homeschooling her children, and more.

This podcast is supported by Humanities New York, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Centre for Civic Engagement, Department of English, Asian and Asian American Studies, Institute for Asia and Asian Diasporas at Binghamton University. In partnership with the American Civic Association and the Tenement Museum.

For more information visit our Website: https://www.immigrantswakeamerica.com/

For more information about the America Civic Association visit: https://americancivic.com/

Instagram: @immigrantswakeamerica
X: @ImmigrantsWake

Immigrants Wake America is back with a new season titled “Hidden Heroes in a Small Town”. During this season we will get to know the staff and case workers at the American Civic Association, a non-profit organization in Binghamton, New York, whose mission is to help refugees and immigrants start a new life while preserving their ethnic and cultural diversity. This six-episode installment showcases the amazing work and journeys of migration of the people “behind the scenes”.

Hussein Adams is the director of the American Civic Association in Binghamton NY. Hussein gives an overview of the breadth of critical work that immigration caseworkers do for the local community and for new immigrants and refugees. He also narrates his personal journey of migration as a Muslim man through the Caribbean and North America, and especially, the impact of post 9/11 on him and his family. As a community leader and as a father, Hussein’s story touches on the complexity and richness of becoming American today.

This podcast is supported by Humanities New York, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Centre for Civic Engagement, Department of English, Asian and Asian American Studies, Institute for Asia and Asian Diasporas at Binghamton University. In partnership with the American Civic Association and the Tenement Museum.

For more information visit our Website: https://www.immigrantswakeamerica.com/

For more information about the America Civic Association visit: https://americancivic.com/

Instagram: @immigrantswakeamerica
X: @ImmigrantsWake

Immigrants Wake America is back with a new season titled “Hidden Heroes in a Small Town”. During this season we will get to know the staff and case workers at the American Civic Association, a non-profit organization in Binghamton, New York, whose mission is to help refugees and immigrants start a new life while preserving their ethnic and cultural diversity.

This six-episode installment showcases the amazing work and journeys of migration of the people “behind the scenes”.

This podcast is supported by Humanities New York, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Centre for Civic Engagement, Department of English, Asian and Asian American Studies, Institute for Asia and Asian Diasporas at Binghamton University. In partnership with the American Civic Association and the Tenement Museum.

For more information visit our Website: https://www.immigrantswakeamerica.com/

For more information about the America Civic Association visit: https://americancivic.com/

Instagram: @immigrantswakeamerica
X: @ImmigrantsWake

Our guests today are Nicole Perkins and Tori Atkins. Nicole and Tori are cousins who have been trying to trace their grandmother’s life and history of immigration from Italy to the United States. In this episode, we see a unique blend of storytelling across generations.

Nicole's story in Your Story, Our Story at the Tenement Museum, New York:
https://yourstory.tenement.org/stories/social-history-application

This podcast is supported by Humanities New York, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Centre for Civic Engagement, Department of English, Asian and Asian American Studies, Institute for Asia and Asian Diasporas at Binghamton University. In partnership with the American Civic Association and the Tenement Museum.

For more information visit our Website: https://www.immigrantswakeamerica.com/

For more information about the America Civic Association visit: https://americancivic.com/

Instagram: @immigrantswakeamerica
X: @ImmigrantsWake