As the child of immigrants, I had been accustomed to derogatory comments, racial slurs, and sometimes even death threats. I was certainly not the only sufferer of this as America has, since its inception, been guilty of harboring many fundamentally racist ideals. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when I had first started my project, there was an increase in the number of reported hate crimes. Racism has remained an integral structure of American Society.

My parents, however, were immigrants from China and Iran. They came from vastly different cultures, but were able to co-exist. They had raised me in a multicultural household where many of my relatives were Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, and Atheist. They spoke languages varying from Chinese and English, to Turkish, Arabic, and Farsi. From seeing how it was possible to co-exist despite cultural barriers, I realized that one of the underlying reasons for racism was simply ignorance. People who didn’t feel connected to cultures apart from their own were apathetic to their condition and sometimes even hateful. Many members of minority groups, as a result, will feel the need to isolate themselves.

As someone who grew up in a multicultural household, I knew that it was possible to overcome these prejudices, so I started the #MyStory program, where I could take the steps to reducing biases by simply sharing cultures.

Buffalo, NY, the city I come from, is currently home to 12,000 refugees. Buffalo is also, however, one of the poorest and most segregated cities in the country, with an infamous racially-motivated shooting that happened just last year at a Tops. Racism, especially in under-resourced communities, has always been a prominent issue. A large percentage of refugees and asylum seekers, who make their way into these communities, are impoverished and will likely never have their stories shared. The same applies to immigrants, who sacrifice their lives, often escaping poverty and tyrannical government themselves, in order to start anew in a foreign community, knowing little about the language or the customs that they live in.

Yet, refugees/immigrants are opening stores and restaurants, bringing cultural dance and music in, reshaping the city, and renovating houses. Despite the hardships they have and continue to experience, they have strived to share their culture with their community. The #MyStory Program seeks to enable these people, sharing their stories, amplifying their businesses/ other pursuits, and connecting them, all in the attempt to reduce discrimination by sharing their cultures. In fact, we have been able to work with local government, immigrant/refugee communities and services, and local school districts to further the impact by unifying the community with a single goal.

Training:

Volunteers receive training with Bridges from Borders (who helps lead the #MyStory program) to receive certification as a “Mental Health Ambassador”. This is a 4-month long program that educates them on DEI/mental health topics which ends in an assignment that fosters leadership and empathy.

The volunteers then engage in multiple online sessions (based on a curriculum I designed) where they learn the principles of journalism and multiculturalism.

Production:

In the production stage, volunteers are paired with an immigrant(s)/refugee(s). In a few sessions, volunteers interview the storytellers to be able to share their experiences/unique cultural heritages and record them as a written narrative.

These volunteers are then partnered up with a professional photographer, who works with the volunteers to depict the stories of the storytellers through photography. By the end of this stage, each storyteller has a written and visual component to their story. In recent years, we have incorporated a podcast, so we have had an auditory component.

Presentation:

In this stage, we hold exhibits, fundraisers, and presentations to share stories. In past years, we have had exhibits at Buffalo State University, Sasse Art Museum, Erie County Family Court Building, and Buffalo&Erie County Library.

We’ve shared 15+ cultures bringing out the diverse stories within my local community.

I was selected as a 2022 Riley’s Way Call for Kindness Fellow, so I was 1 of 35 youth chosen across the nation to receive funding (~$4,500) for my project and leadership training in Washington D.C. / NYC.

My work has been recognized by the Erie County Legislature and I have received commendations from judges/lawyers in the Buffalo Court System. I was televised on WGRZ-TV as 1 of 6 recipients of the NFJC Community Heroes Award. I also received a gold (2022) prize in the Youth Achievement Competition,

Beyond the recognition of the impact this program has already been able to make, #MyStory has collaborated with 20+ community organizations, which allows us to find immigrant/refugees who may be able to share their story while also being able to have a platform to publicize them.

We have had 500+ attendees at events and fundraisers. We’ve also created a book and a podcast to further our reach within the community for sharing stories. I am currently leading a team of 40+ volunteers, including high-school students, adult mentors, and professional photographers.

In building such a reputable and expansive relationship with the community, we are continuously able to foster greater relationships and ensure that our impact can grow. We are intending on expanding our project to more communities, sharing additional cultures, and including new mediums such as film to our approach.

Volunteers: 

Volunteers were exposed to new cultures, broadening their own understanding. Youth volunteers were given the opportunity to share their music, art, and writing skills to help them with further career pursuits. Many of the immigrants/ refugees came from prominent positions within the community, where they were non-profit founders, lawyers, scientists, professors, etc. so it created a community within the program where volunteers were connected with these individuals. Many were able to learn from someone who came from a similar background as them.

Storytellers:

My storytellers had the opportunity to share their hardships and successes. Many came into the project uncertain that they had anything worthwhile to share, but working with them left them with a sense of empowerment and pride in their accomplishments. Many of the storytellers were business owners or prominent figures in the community, so this project allowed their stories and careers to be amplified to further aid them in their successes.

Audiences:

Many audience members, drawn to tears, remarked that they had been personal victims of discrimination and this project allowed them to feel less alone. It did its part in unifying the community as well as helping people feel less isolated. Many of them felt inspired to join this program or to start initiatives within their own community to help people.