Elba Armstrong-Rivera Part 1

Elba Armstrong-Rivera Part 1

2020-10-26

video

Julia Rohde

Elba Armstrong-Rivera

5.4 Elba Rosario Armstrong Part 1 Latino Lorain Oberlin College Library Elba Rosario Armstrong Julia Rohde 0 https://youtu.be/ARMd5Oq-fzM YouTube video 0 Introduction Alright, so my name is Julia Rohde and I'm a fourth year student at Oberlin College. I am interviewing Elba Rosario Armstrong today for the Latino Lorain Oral History Project. Latino Lorain Oral History ; Lorain, Ohio 60 Early Childhood in Lorain Can you tell me a little bit about where you grew up and what you remember about your childhood and your family? Elba discusses how she was born in Ciales, Puerto Rico, and then moved with her mother and two sisters to Lorain, Ohio when Elba was just three-years-old. They joined her father, who was already living in Lorain and working at the steel plant. 1950's ; Ciales ; Immigration ; Lorain City Schools ; Lorain, Ohio ; Migration ; Puerto Rico ; Steel Plant 183 Lorain City Schools and English Immersion And I attended Lorain City Schools on the East Side... Elba discusses her experience attending Lorain City Schools without knowing any English at the time. Bilingual ; English ; Immersion ; Lakeview Elementary School ; Lorain City Schools ; Lorain High School ; Lorain, Ohio ; Spanish 457 Memories of Lorain City Schools Could you share some memories you have being in school in Lorain? Elba discusses memories of friends and teachers in the Lorain City Schools and notes that there were not many Hispanic students in the schools she attended. Education ; Hispanic Students ; Lorain City Schools ; Puerto Rican Culture ; Spanish ; Teachers 614 Family's involvement with Hispanic community in Lorain My parents...we didn't live in South Lorain and that's where the majority of the Hispanic population lived, in South Lorain. But my father worked at the steel plant... Elba explains that she didn't &quot ; grow up&quot ; in the Hispanic community because her family didn't live in South Lorain ; however, Elba and her sisters found Hispanic community through Sacred Heart Chapel. Church ; Hispanic Community ; Puerto Rican ; Religious Community ; Sacred Heart Chapel 703 Challenges and family history of migration to Lorain Did your parents ever talk to you about some of the challenges they faced moving to Lorain and not speaking any English? Elba discusses how her mother travelled from Ciales, Puerto Rico to Lorain, Ohio with her three daughters, not able to speak any English at that time. She also describes how her parents learned English once in Lorain and the many family members she had in the city. Familial Migration ; Hispanic ; Immigration ; Lorain, Ohio ; Migration ; Puerto Rico ; South Lorain ; Spanish 861 Lorain as a thriving, industrial city And what was Lorain like as a city when you were growing up? Elba describes Lorain as a thriving city with different industries and ethnic communities. Downtown Lorain ; E 29th Street ; Industrial ; Industry ; Lorain, Ohio ; Puerto Rican food ; Shipbuilding ; South Lorain ; Spanish theatre ; U.S. Steel 1004 Family involvement in Lorain city politics And you had mentioned that your uncle owned a restaurant. Could you tell us about that? Elba describes the restaurant that her uncle owned in South Lorain and details how her uncle and father got involved in Lorain local government. family business ; Henry Cabot Lodge ; local government ; Lorain City Council ; politics ; Puerto Rican food ; Rockefeller ; South Lorain ; voting 1197 Elba's various teaching and administrative jobs in Lorain schools As you mentioned, you would eventually go on to become a teacher as your mom, it sounds like, encouraged you to do. Could you talk about the process of becoming a teacher and then maybe your first few years on the job? Elba describes the different roles she had in the Lorain City Schools and explains that her role as a teacher was when she was first able to get deeply involved with the Hispanic community of Lorain. bilingual ; bilingual program ; elementary education ; first grade ; Hispanic community ; Hispanic students ; Lincoln Elementary School ; Lorain City Schools ; parochial schools ; principal ; public schools ; Puerto Rican Home ; Puerto Rican teachers ; second grade ; South Lorain ; Spanish ; Spanish Language Arts ; Spanish-speaking teachers ; teacher recruitment ; teaching 1603 The importance of Spanish-speaking faculty in Lorain City Schools When I took these positions, I always though of how can I best help the students...in what capacity could I help them better, and parents as well. Elba discusses the value of having teachers who spoke Spanish and understood the culture of the student body. She explains that this helped the parents of students get involved and feel comfortable in the schools. African American teachers ; Bilingual education ; desegregation ; family involvement ; Lorain City Schools ; parent-teacher relationships ; Puerto Rican culture ; Puerto Rican teachers ; school community ; Spanish ; Spanish-speaking teachers ; teaching 2060 Recruitment of Puerto Rican teachers and bilingual curriculum And you had mentioned that they were actively recruiting teachers from Puerto Rico. Could you talk a little bit more about that? Elba discusses the bilingual program and the recruitment of Spanish-speaking teachers, as well as her involvement supervising and teaching in the program. bilingual education ; bilingual program ; curriculum ; elementary education ; foreign language ; foreign language pedagogy ; Puerto Rican teachers ; Spanish ; teacher recruitment ; team teaching 2364 Desegregation of the Lorain City Schools And how long were you working in the schools? Elba was principal of Lakeview when the Lorain City Schools had to desegregate. She discusses how the school system implemented magnet schools in order to desegregate. bilingual program ; busing ; Coalition for Hispanic Issues and Progress ; desegregation ; desegregation consent decree ; gifted program ; Hawthorne Elementary School ; Lorain City Schools ; magnet schools ; montessori program ; school consolidation ; school reorganization ; segregation ; student tracking 2947 The Coalition for Hispanic Issues and Progress (C.H.I.P.) It's hard to imagine that you had time to do work with other organizations outside the schools given how much you've already talked about and the different positions you held, but I would love to hear about some of these other organizations you were also involved with. Maybe we could start with C.H.I.P.... Elba discusses the establishment of C.H.I.P. and her role in the revival of the organization. She would eventually serve as President of C.H.I.P.. advocacy ; C.H.I.P ; Cleveland Clinic ; Coalition for Hispanic Issues and Progress ; community organizing ; discrimination ; employment discrimination ; Hispanic professional organization ; Hispanics ; labor ; LCCC ; legal ; Lorain County Community College ; Lorain, Ohio ; public health ; social services ; Spanish ; workplace discrimination 3476 The Hispanic Fund Do you want to know some of the other organizations? Elba discusses her role with the Lorain County Community Foundation, establishing the Hispanic Fund which would support different Hispanic projects and organizations in the city. community foundation ; community organization ; Hispanic community ; Hispanic fund ; LCCC ; Lorain County ; Lorain County Community College ; Lorain County Community Foundation ; Lorain, Ohio 3794 Lorain County Community College (LCCC) and the minority incentive plan Well, of course, you know, I participated at Lorain County Community College with the program for students...Hispanic students...for grants, scholarships to be able to go to school.... Elba discusses her involvement at LCCC helping Hispanic students earn scholarships and working with the college to diversify the student population. Early College Program ; Hispanic students ; LCCC ; Lorain City Schools ; Lorain County Community College ; minority incentive plan 3899 Lorain International Festival In our previous conversations you had mentioned being involved with planning the International Festival, specifically when Puerto Rico was the center. Elba discusses her involvement in planning the annual Lorain International Festival when Puerto Rico was the spotlight and notes that Lorain was known as the International City. coqui ; gala ; International City ; International Festival ; Lorain, Ohio ; parade ; Puerto Rican community ; Puerto Rican culture ; Puerto Rico 4202 The city of Lorain over the years I'm wondering if you could tell me a little bit about how you think Lorain has changed from growing up there, and then working in the schools and through these organizations, to today? Elba describes how Lorain has changed throughout her life. community ; ethnicity ; history ; International City ; Lorain, Ohio ; urban development 4477 History of Latinos in Lorain Do you feel that people in Lorain today are familiar with the city's history? Elba discusses her involvement with the Lorain Historical Society's project to do the history of the Latino community of Lorain. El Centro ; Hispanic Fund ; Latino community ; Latino history ; Lorain Historical Society ; Lorain history ; Oberlin College ; Oral history 4558 Elba's proudest moment in Lorain I have probably a tough question for you just because you've had so many amazing experiences in Lorain and been involved in so many organizations. I'm wondering if you can pinpoint what your proudest moment has been in Lorain? Elba discusses some of her proudest moments, included being awarded the Ohio Distinguished Hispanic by the governor, being a part of moving the Hispanic population &quot ; in the right direction,&quot ; her role as an educator, and being Hispanic. community organization ; education ; Hispanic ; Hispanic community ; Hispanic pride ; Lakeview Elementary School ; Lorain, Ohio ; Ohio Distinguished Hispanic ; Puerto Rico ; Sherrod Brown ; teaching 4825 Community Center in South Lorain There was another thing we did. It was started...Father Bill, our priest at Sacred Heart and Cel--because of some things that had been occurring in the city--we were closing schools, of course, because we were building brand new schools. And I was the director of the development of the new schools... Elba discusses the creation of a community center in the old Lincoln Elementary building in South Lorain. community center ; education ; Father Bill ; Hispanic community ; Lincoln Elementary ; Lorain City Schools ; Lorain Police Department ; Lorain, Ohio ; Sacred Heart Chapel ; school development ; South Lorain ; South Lorain Hispanic Coaltion 5050 Elba's motivations for her community engagement and connection to Puerto Rican roots I thought of just one more question before we wrap up. You've clearly devoted so much time and energy to Lorain through all of these organizations, and I am curious why you have throughout your entire life, it seems, felt the need to do that and where you are coming from when working with all of these organizations... Elba explains how her family's history of humanitarianism in Puerto Rico influenced her own community engagement and philanthropy in Lorain. Cialis, Puerto Rico ; coffee farm ; community engagement ; humanitarian ; immigration ; migration ; philanthropy ; Puerto Rican culture ; Puerto Rican farm ; Puerto Rican pride ; Puerto Rico ; service ; Spanish ; tobacco farm Oral history interview with Elba Rosario Armstrong for the Latino Lorain Oral History project. video 0 https://oberlincollegelibrary.org/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=LL_Rosario-Armstrong_Elba_1.xml LL_Rosario-Armstrong_Elba_1.xml

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