Oral History Interview Aysha Allos
Aysha Allos, attorney and counselor, Allos Law who specializes in business law. She was inspired to open her own practice during the pandemic when she saw small businesses struggling, and also saw an uptick in new businesses opening. She wanted to be of service to the people. She launched her business in January 2021, after practicing law for a few years in various sectors.
Oral History Interview with Ra Avis
In this oral history interview, Ra Avis discusses her experience as a formerly incarcerated "Chicana-Desi" who grew up in Texas and now lives in California. Avis discusses the death of her husband while she was incarcerated and her experience as an incarcerated firefighter and the injury she sustained.
Oral History Interview with Vyasar Ganesan
In this oral history interview, Vyasar Ganesan shares about his experience growing up in Austin, Texas to a single mother while his father was incarcerated.
Oral history interview with Ifti Nasim
An interview with Ifti Nasim conducted by Kareem Khubchandani in 2009, two years before Nasim passed away. Ifti Nasim was one of the founding members of Sangat, an early South Asian LGBT organization in the United States.
Oral History Interview with Alok Vaid-Menon
Alok Vaid-Menon is a gender non-conforming writer and performance artist. In their oral history, Alok describes growing up in College Station, TX, connecting with activists and artists during college in California and subsequently in New York, their experiences touring across the world as a performance artist, and their journey of navigating gender through poetry, activism and fashion.
Oral History Interview with Bishakh Som
Bishakh Som is the author of the graphic novel Apsara Engine. In the oral history, Bishakh describes growing up in Ethiopia and New York, studying and practicing architecture, "hatching" as a trans person, and storytelling through illustration.
Oral History Interview with Alex
Alex is an Indo-Guyanese drag performer. In the oral history, Alex describes growing up in New York, navigating their Indo-Guyanese and Sicilian identities, their connection to multiple faith traditions, and their experiences as a drag performer at the intersection of these identities.
Nariza and Ryan Budhu Oral History
Nariza Budhu, who emigrated from Guyana in the early 1980s, speaks with her American-born son Ryan Budhu, an attorney at a law firm, a photographer and past president of the South Asian Bar Association of New York. Nariza recounts coming to New York City for the first time to seek medical care for her toddler Ravi, who was born premature and had a heart defect.
State Senator Roxanne Persaud Oral History
Roxanne Persaud, a New York state senator from Brooklyn, left Guyana in 1984, at the age of 17. Her parents and most of her siblings had already emigrated from the country several years before, sponsored to come to America by a nurse aunt. Sen.
Kamala Kiem Oral History Interview
Kamala Kiem, a University Administrator and former tennis player, discusses her journey of embracing her multiple identities as a queer, Indo-Jamaican, South Asian woman.