Sen. Tom Udall Helps Launch StoryCorps Historia to Preserve Stories of Hispanic Americans

Since 2003, the independent, nonprofit StoryCorps has been collecting oral histories from Americans to document their lives, thoughts and experiences. Today, it was announced that a new initiative will be dedicated to collecting and preserving the oral histories of Hispanic Americans. Sen. Tom Udall was on hand at the formal announcement to help launch the project. StoryCorp Historia will be visiting several locations in New Mexico over the next year to gather oral histories from our large and diverse Hispanic population.

Udall, a longtime fan of the StoryCorps project, originally broached the idea of a Hispanic- and Latino-focused initiative several years ago while a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. At the time, Udall and fellow members of a House subcommittee were hearing an update by StoryCorps on a separate project focusing on the stories of African Americans, called the Griot Initiative. Udall encouraged StoryCorps representatives to explore a similar project for Hispanic Americans.

“I am so pleased to see that idea come to fruition with today’s announcement of StoryCorps Historias,” Udall said in a statement released today. “As Senator from a state where almost 45 percent of residents are of Hispanic descent, I know firsthand how important the lives and experiences of Hispanics are in telling America’s story.”

StoryCorps was founded in 2003 with a mission to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening. In partnership with National Public Radio and the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, StoryCorps has recorded more than 27,000 interviews with over 50,000 participants from across the nation to date.

“Since StoryCorps first started its work in 2003, the aim has been to create a growing portrait of who we are as a nation. At 50+ million strong, Hispanics represent 15 percent of the U.S. population and are the fastest-growing segment, which is why it is so important that we record and preserve their stories,” said StoryCorps Founder and President Dave Isay.

Udall, a member of the Senate Democratic Hispanic Task Force, joined members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and others on Capitol Hill for StoryCorps Historias’ official launch. StoryCorps Historias will record the stories of nearly 1,000 Hispanics and Latinos over the next year through visits to 10 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. New Mexico stops are planned for Albuquerque, Taos and Alamosa.

StoryCorps Historia is working in partnership with the Latino Public Radio Consortium, Latino USA, the U.S. Latino and Latina World War II Oral History Project and other historical and cultural institutions and membership organizations. By the close of its first year, StoryCorps Historias will likely stand as one of the largest collections of Latino voices ever gathered. StoryCorps is launching Historias to deliver the StoryCorps experience to Latino communities, to honor these culturally significant voices, and to ensure these voices are represented on public radio.

Each conversation is recorded by StoryCorps on a free CD that those interviewed can take home and share, and is archived for generations to come at the Library of Congress. Millions listen to their award-winning broadcasts on public radio and the Internet. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, creating a growing portrait of who we really are as Americans.

According to the StoryCorps website:

The heart of StoryCorps is the conversation between two people who are important to each other: a son asking his mother about her childhood, an immigrant telling his friend about coming to America, or a couple reminiscing on their 50th wedding anniversary. By helping people to connect, and to talk about the questions that matter, the StoryCorps experience is powerful and sometimes even life-changing.