There Is No Liberation in Isolation (South Asian American Digital Archive)

Anderson-Rajkumar’s story was the last oral history interview I conducted. It was recorded through Skype in April 2020 at the beginning of a pandemic.

As Rev. Evangeline spoke, I was reminded about the central purpose behind this oral history collection. I started with the belief that communities cannot heal from historic, intergenerational trauma without knowing their history. I hoped to catalyze collective healing and liberation through story. I also wanted to emphasize that caste doesn’t disappear when you take residence in the U.S. no matter how much you might try and ignore it, refuse to teach your children about it, or fail to recognize its presence, thick in the air in any South Asian circle and beyond.  

Read more here. Tides by the South Asian American Digital Archive features several excellent articles in October, including "Archiving queer brown feelings."