Green Card Youth Voices Atlanta

Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School

Georgia Immigration Research Network founding members, Dr. Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez and Dr. Paul N. McDaniel, along with Dr. Lara Smith-Sitton (Assistant Professor and Director of Community Engagment, Department of English, at KSU), have partnered with Dr. Tea Rozman-Clark, executive director of Green Card Voices, along with the Latin American Association, Welcoming America, and local Atlanta area public schools, on the production of a new book focused on the diverse stories of immigrants and refugees in Atlanta. 

Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School was published in April 2018 as a result of a year-long community engagement university-community partnership project. Additional community engagement and outreach events are planned in 2018-2019. The Green Card Youth Voices series is a collection of books dedicated to sharing the immigration stories of young, new Americans from all over the country. Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School is a collection of over 20 personal essays written by high school students in the Atlanta area. This is the first book in this series focused on a city in the southeastern United States. Included with each essay is a first-person video narrative, highlighting their personal journey. It includes links to the students' video narratives, a study guide, and glossary to help teachers use the book as an educational resource when teaching about immigration.

Events

• April 20, 2018: Panel Discussion at Atlanta Studies Symposium

  April 20, 2018, 3:30-5:00 PM: Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School discussion panel at the Atlanta Studies Symposium at the Robert W. Woodruff Library, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.

• May 9, 2018: Soft Book Launch at DeKalb International Student Center
  May 9, 2018: Soft book launch for Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School at DeKalb International Student Center.
• May 9, 2018: Soft Book Launch at Cross Keys High School
  May 9, 2018: Soft book launch for Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School at Cross Keys High School.
• May 12, 2018: Soft Book Launch at Clarkston High School
  May 12, 2018: Soft book launch for Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School at Clarkston High School's International Student Festival. 
• May 13, 2018: Official Book Launch at Alliance Theatre

  May 13, 2018, 3:30-4:45 PM: Official Book Launch event for Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School, in the Rich Auditorium in the Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.

• June 18, 2018: Book Reading and Discussion at Center for Civil and Human Rights
  June 18, 2018, 6:00-9:00 PM: Voices of Refugees event at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. At this event, in honor of World Refugee Day, four student authors from Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School - originally from Myanmar, Nepal, Rwanda and Afghanistan - read their personal essays, followed by an interview with Rev. Jesse Jackson and a panel discussion with local area refugee service providers. 1000 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd. Atlanta, Georgia. 
• August 30, 2018: Book Reading and Discussion at Museum of History and Holocaust Education

  August 30, 2018, 6:00 PM: Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School book reading and panel discussion at Grand Opening Reception of Refuge or Refusal: Turning Points in U.S. Immigration History exhibit at the Museum of History and Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University.

• September 1, 2018: Book Reading at AJC Decatur Book Festival
  September 1, 2018, 1:00 PM: Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School student authors will be featured on the Teen Stage during the AJC Decatur Book Festival. 
• September 28-29, 2018: Presentation and Book Reading at 2018 Georgia TESOL Conference

  Two presentations at 2018 Georgia TESOL Conference in Atlanta, Georgia:

  September 28, 2018: Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School - The Power of Storytelling (Creating, Curating, and Sharing Student Narrative Projects). Educators will discuss the creation of Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School, a collection of digital and published narratives by young immigrants which brought high school and college students, DeKalb County educators, Kennesaw State University faculty members, and nonprofit administrators together for a community-engaged advocacy project focused on the power of storytelling.

  September 29, 2018: Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School - Readings and Panel Discussion by DeKalb County High School Students. This session will feature student authors reading excerpts from their narratives found in the published collection of stories and a panel discussion about the impact of the project. A question and answer session will follow the readings with students and educators involved with the project. 

• October 2, 2018: Presentation at Engaged Scholarship Consortium 2018 Meeting
  October 2, 2018: Presentation at the Engaged Scholarhip Consortium 2018 Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from Atlanta High School Students - Pedagogical, Advocacy, and Research Structures for Engaged Work." Three academic scholars, a founder of a nonprofit organization serving the United States refugee community, and a student researcher will discuss structural components of partnerships in community writing and research developed through the publication of an edited collection of refugee narratives. The five-person panel will focus on best practices in project design and assessment.
• October 24, 2018: Presentation and Discussion at Race, Ethnicity, and Place Conference
  October 24, 2018: Presentation and discussion of Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School project and process at the biennial Race, Ethnicity, and Place IX Conference: Engaged Scholarship: Fostering Civil and Human Rights. The presentation will be held at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin, Texas. 
• November 17, 2018: Book Reading at DeKalb County Public Libraries

  November 17, 2018: Two Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School book readings will be held at the Decatur branch and Brookhaven branch of the DeKalb County Public Library.

  12:00-1:30 PM: Decatur Library

  3:30-5:00 PM: Brookhaven Library

• March 11, 2019: Community Engagement in Action: Green Card Youth Voices Atlanta

  March 11, 2019: Community Engagement in Action: Green Card Youth Voices Atlanta. On Monday, March 11, 2019, at 5:00 PM, in Sturgis Library room 101, join us for "Community Engagement in Action: Green Card Youth Voices Atlanta" featuring special guest Dr. Tea Rozman Clark (Executive Director of Green Card Voices) and a discussion with young immigrant authors, KSU student editors, and KSU faculty members: Dr. Lara Smith-Sitton (English), Dr. Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez (Social Work and Human Services), and Dr. Paul N. McDaniel (Geography and Anthropology).

  Check out photos from this event here and here.

• March 14, 2019: Presentation and Discussion at International TESOL Conference in Atlanta

  March 14, 2019: Presentation and Discussion at the International TESOL Conference at the Georgia World Congress Center in Downtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Check out photos from this event here and here. 

• June 17-24, 2019: Green Card Youth Voices Atlanta Exhibit at Atlanta Airport Terminals

  June 17-24, 2019: The Green Card Youth Voices Atlanta exhibit is on display in both the Domestic Terminal and International Terminal atriums at the busiest airport in the world, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. More information from Dr. Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez:

  "June is Immigrant Heritage Month in the US. So to celebrate "us in the US", I am humbled and thrilled to share with you some wonderful news. With the support of the City of Atlanta's Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (Welcoming Atlanta) and the Department of Aviation, specifically Ms. Valerie Mills and Ms. Alrene Barr, respectively... the traveling exhibit of Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School is on display at the domestic and international terminals of the world's busiest airport: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport! Thank you to the Department of Aviation's Art Program and the Office of International Business staff for making this possible. A special thanks to Ms. Mar Anderson for her tremendous "on the ground" logistical assistance so that the exhibit could be installed with maximum exposure and impact at both of the atriums. Gratitude is extended to the Kendeda Fund and the Kennesaw State University (KSU) Division of Global Affairs for investing in this multi-media project. In like fashion, the team would like to thank the National Geographic Society for their financial support to develop and implement innovative ways to make scholarship about human migration accessible to the public. Thank you all for a successful "take off"!" - Dr. Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez

  Check out photos here and here. 

Preview Trailer for Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School

Acknowledgements

• DeKalb County School District and Clarkston High School, Cross Keys High School, and DeKalb International Student Center
• KSU Office of Research
• KSU Division of Global Affairs
• KSU Office of Diversity and Inclusion
• KSU Office of Community Engagement
• KSU Department of Social Work and Human Services
• KSU Department of English
• KSU Department of Geography and Anthropology
• KSU School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding and Development
• KSU College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• KSU WellStar College of Health and Human Services
• KSU Museum of History and Holocaust Education
• Welcoming America
• Latin American Association
• Alliance Theatre
• National Center for Civil and Human Rights
• The Kendeda Fund
• National Geographic Society