Immigration Interviews
The oral histories collected in this section detail interviewee immigration to the United States and their journeys to Detroit. Please find direct links to interviewees individual pages below and synopses of interviewee's stories following.
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Direct Links to Immigration Interviewee Pages:​
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Vincent Khapoya
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Summary:
Mr. Shakarnah was born in Bethlehem in the West Bank. He started to cook at an early age and was working as a chef in the Middle East. Mahar came to the United Stated for a visit in 1997. He traveled the country and eventually settled in Michigan to continue working as a chef.
Summary:
Marygrove College professor Dr. Chukwunyere Okezie was one of 10 children in his family's compound in Nigeria. He describes the communal nature of his family with sharing of meals and childcare in the family compound. After working for several years in a family import/export business, he attended Zairm University in Nigeria, which closed soon after he entered. Dr. Okezie at the age of 22 moved to the United States to earn his undergraduate degree and his master’s and Ph.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He then started his teaching career at Coppin State College and then accepted a full time position at Marygrove College. Dr. Okezie’s parents started the process of arranging a wife for him in 1999 and he married in 2002 and his wife and child joined him in Michigan in 2005. He describes the process of the marriage, his growing family, and his adjustments to Marygrove College students.