Impact
Policy, Media and Education
Separated works not only to collect stories but to bring these stories, in consultation with narrators themselves, into the public conversation. Using applied oral history methodology, the project applies the oral histories collected towards interventions. This includes raising public awareness about the impact of family separation, to advocate for the rights of migrant families, and to promote social investment. Here are some outcomes from our application of oral histories in policy, education, and media:
Public Hearing
Families in rural communities unable to attend a meeting with DHS Secretary of Mayorkas in August 2021 shared audio excerpts from the oral histories with the Secretary. According to event organizers, this meeting was the first time in history that a sitting DHS secretary met with prospective asylum-seekers.
Public Comment
Families contributed public comments that were solicited by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on behalf of the Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families. Click here for an index and links to specific comments submitted on behalf of narrators from the project.
Opinion Piece
The story of Leticia Peren is featured in a Washington Post op-ed on the ongoing challenges of families following reunification. The article reiterates the need for redress for parents and children who experienced family separation and points to the historical precedent created by legislation passed to compensate and apologize to victims of Japanese-American incarceration during WWII.
Policy Brief
Stories from Separated informed a policy brief by the Women's Refugee Commission. The brief details the impact of the separation, the urgent service needs of reunified families, and recommends polices needed to prevent a future administration from separating families.
Education
Presentations about the project virtually and in person for Columbia Global Centers | Rio de Janeiro, Pomona College, UC Riverside, UCLA, Oral History Association, Columbia University, Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region, and more.
Distance-Learning
In process: develop a distance-learning and storytelling curriculum to launch via the messaging platform WhatsApp. The course is designed to introduce families to each other and guide them through conversations about the dissemination of their oral histories and to advance civic pedagogy to build community and solidarity among the families impacted by family separation. The course will produce a tool-kit which will be used to inform researchers and media makers about how the families want their stories disseminated.