Archives West Finding Aid

This oral history interview with Brianda Alcazar was conducted by Keven Salazar on July 22, 2018. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States. In this interview, Alcazar discusses her family background and early life in Michoacán, Mexico. She then describes coming to the United States with her family at age 6 and settling in the Portland, Oregon, area. She talks about her education and learning English as a second language. She discusses balancing her schoolwork with the expectation that she would fulfill traditional gender roles at home; leaving home at age 15; and continuing her education as a teenage mother. She describes her living conditions during the first years after the birth of her oldest child. She talks about studying at Portland Community College, her involvement with the Women's Resource Center, and balancing her education while raising children. She discusses the importance of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in her daily life. She talks about dealing with racial discrimination, including explaining racism to her children; and describes her ethnic and cultural identity. She closes the interview by talking about her current activities and plans for the future.