Ironbound Oral History Project

This project is dedicated to researching and celebrating the lives of Northern New Jersey's Portuguese-speaking immigrant community. Created in September of 2001, the Ironbound Oral History Project employs the energies of Rutgers-Newark's students to uncover the rich life histories of Portuguese-speaking immigrants living in Northern New Jersey. Armed with audio recorders, video cameras, and newly acquired ethnographic skills, students travel the short distance from Rutgers-Newark campus to Newark's Ironbound neighborhood to interview Portuguese and Brazilian immigrants. Students conduct long, semi-structured interviews, with the goal of understanding the process of emigration, the expression of ethnic identity, the challenges of adaptation and assimilation, and the stories which bring these experiences to life. Many scholars have termed the Portuguese-speaking community in the US an "invisible minority." This project is a modest step toward achieving heightened visibility, by unearthing and disseminating the vibrant narratives of Portuguese-speaking immigrants whose lives have enriched the cultural history of Newark, New Jersey for many decades. Project Director Kimberly DaCosta Holton is currently working on creating a digital archive of the 100 Oral Histories produced by students over the past two years. Audio recordings of the interviews and written transcripts will also be available for public perusal at the Camões Institute Center for Portuguese Language and Culture, soon to be located in Dana Library.