Oral Histories of Violence, Exclusion and Resistance

• In Event: Borderless Narratives: Resisting Empire Through Memory, Movement, and Marginalized Spaces

Abstract

Saeeda’s paper will focus on the oral history methods and digital humanities project she uses to map violence, investigate exclusion and incarceration affecting both citizens and non-citizens in the United States, specifically looking at her hometown of Stockton, California, as a case study. Her research explores how race, gender, class and citizenship shape systemic violence experienced by black and brown people in urban neighborhoods and schools. By centering both citizens and noncitizens, Islam’s work sheds light on the impact that federal policies, on going segregation and local police play into disenfranchising these communities. Furthermore, she will highlight the impact that local activists and organizations have had, in fighting against a system that is created to exclude and eliminate black and brown bodies.

Author

• SAEEDA ISLAM, Yale University