We invite you to attend a program on Thursday, April 3 at 5:30 pm called Our Journey: Nuestra Viaje, a first and crucial step in the Napa Valley Oral History Project. Mark your calendars today and do plan to join us at the Goodman Library for what promises to be an extraordinary and important new addition to our efforts to keep history alive in Napa County.
This project began last year when the Napa County Historical Society (NCHS) was approached by local high school teacher Rich Hernandez who asked if NCHS would be willing to work with a group of students engaged in the Leadership Academy Youth Leaders in Action (LAYLA) program. Mr. Hernandez said he wanted to teach the students about history and through history, attempt to connect the youth to their community while teaching the importance of its history.
This important dimension of the Historical Society’s work requires interviewing, careful record-keeping, and extremely time-consuming transcription. As you may know, many groups and organizations have attempted to start oral history projects and many have failed.
Four LAYLA students, who have worked assiduously since September 2013, have created Las Voces de los Mexicanos: Napa Valley Oral History Project. The purpose of the project is to fill the void of primary sources from Napa’s Mexican immigrant community for the Napa County Historical Society.
La Academia de liderazgo de jóvenes lideres en acción (LAYLA) crearon un proyecto,“Las Voces de los Mexicanos: Napa Valley Oral History Project” para llenar el vacío con fuentes de primera mano sobre la comunidad inmigrante Mexicana de Napa para la Sociedad Histórica.
We expect the Goodman Library to hit capacity for this event so please RSVP to info@napahistory.org or 707.224.1739.