Oral Histories
About these Stories
Since 2017, Southern Mix has been conducting oral history interviews with Asians and Asian Americans throughout the American South. This collection of distinctive and powerful interviews engages in meaningful conversations about race, identity, migration, and the pursuit of belonging in the multifaceted landscape of the South. Browse through to listen and read some of these stories.
Anna-Rhesa Versola
Anna-Rhesa Versola begins by discussing her expectations for the Southern Mix project and its personal significance as an Asian American. She was born in Manila, Philippines in 1965 and her father led the family to the United States for his … Read more
Asian American, Filipino, Phillipines
Chavi Khanna Koneru
Chavi Khanna Koneru is co-founder and Executive Director of North Carolina Asian Americans Together (NCAAT). Koneru was born in 1983 in Oakland, California and moved with her family to Durham, NC in 1989. She describes the culture shock she experienced … Read more
Asian American, Hindu Punjabi, Indian American, Sikh, South Asian, Telugu, India
Isabel Lu
Isabel Lu (she/they) is a Chinese American artist and public health researcher living in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is currently an emerging artist in residence at Artspace in Raleigh. In this interview, Lu first talks about growing up in Greensboro, … Read more
Asian American, Chinese American,
Jhana Parikh
“I mean, I was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. I have never lived anywhere else. So, yeah, I’m pretty comfortable calling myself a Southerner.” Jhana and her father, Snehal. / Photo courtesy of Jhana Parikh. Indian immigration to North Carolina, … Read more
Asian American, Indian, Indian American, South Asian, India
June Lee
June Lee is an Asian American, U.S. Army veteran based in North Carolina. She was interviewed not only because of her experience as a veteran but also because of her positionality as an Asian woman within a predominantly white, male … Read more
Asian American, Korean, South Korea
Moni Sawhney
“I live in the South, but my identity is not Southern.” Dr. Moni Sawhney poses for a portrait at his home in Raleigh, N.C. / Photo by Maydha Devarajan. For nearly 30 years, Moni Sawhney was a white man — … Read more
Indian, Indian American, South Asian, India
Ngoc Nguyen
“I look at them [older generation of folks] and think about what their lives are here in the United States and what their lives were like in Vietnam with the understanding that with each passing generation you lose a little … Read more
Asian American, Southeast Asian, Vietnamese, Vietnam
Pirya Matai
“I’m a Southern brown girl.” If you asked Pirya Matai for a list of terms to describe herself, “Southern girl” would be pretty high on the list. Scratch that — “a brown Southern girl,” to be specific.
Hindu, India, Iran, Pakistan
Reverend WonGong So
The interview begins with discussion of Rev. WonGong’s early life: her childhood in small town South Korea, her relationship with her mother, and her early experiences with Won Buddhism. She then describes life at seminary and her eventual move to … Read more
Korean, South Korea