In the Fall of 2021, Raíces Public History Intern Layla Ahmed began a journey to uncover her family history, as part of the Raíces Community History Family Ties project. Layla started with a pair of oral history interviews with her grandparents, Mohammed and Shirin Talukder, who left Bangladesh in 1977 after years of war in their home country and eventually settled in Paterson, NJ where they raised their family and eventually their granddaughter Layla was born.

After her internship ended, Layla stayed on board to become a member of the Raíces Community History Community Project Panel, where she used the family history materials she created, collected and preserved as part of her earlier internship to create a Knightlab Storymap based digital exhibit tell the story of their journey.

View the Exhibit

View the Exhibit

The purpose of this project is to document the history and cultural impact of folkloric, musical, and artistic traditions from a variety of cultures in the communities where they are taught and practiced in the diaspora. Each exhibit focuses on an artist living and working in New Jersey to practice, preserve, and share their traditions. These are exceptional artists, teachers, and culture bearers living in our area, and we are honored to share their stories here on the Raíces Digital Archive.

This is an ongoing exhibit series, the Raíces Digital Archive Team will continue to curate new exhibits featuring roots music genres and local musician who work at preserving and sharing them. We will also continue to document the work of the artists already featured here and add to the dynamic exhibits and collections featured here. 

VIEW THE EXHIBIT SERIES

The Domboshava Community Project was founded by Highland Park, NJ resident Sylvia Hove. Despite being far from her homeland, Zimbabwe, Sylvia continues to manage the Domboshava Community Project from afar. The purpose of the Domboshava Community Project is to develop from the bottom up, the Domboshava Community through creative art, agriculture, horticulture, cultural tourism, conservation, herbal gardens and food.

From Sylvia: "My mother is a Soko Murehwa and she comes from Shamu Village Govera Domboshava; My father comes from Goromonzi Chikwaka and he is a Matemai. My Grandfather moved to Hurungwe where my father grew up. I am linked to these villages through my lineage which is an important part of my culture. My passion is working with communities where I can relate in terms of land ownership, chieftainships and our totems. Culture and knowing our heritage is very important and it determines who we are as a people."

This collaborative archival exhibit seeks to preserve the work of the Domboshava Comminity Project and its founder, Sylvia Hove, as well as serve as an information, resource and cultural bridge between NJ and Domboshava, Zimbabwe. It illustrates the work being done within culture, sustainability, ecology and social entreprenuership by Sylvia, a NJ resident, eco-warrior and culture bearer.

For more information about the Domboshava Community Project visit www.fishersecotourism.com.

During our recent disaster relief support trip to Puerto Rico from January 12-19, 2018, Raíces Crew members were able to post some impressions on social media. This helped us to keep a kind of log of immediate reflections and experiences from the week spent with our family, friends and network of ecological and cultural collaborators throughout the island. Here is the compilation of the postings made throughout the week, along with some of the photos we took while documenting the work of grassroots organizations dedicated to sustainability, resiliency, and a just recovery for the island of Puerto Rico.

In this exhibit of Culture Bearers in New Jersey you will find a growing collection of spotlights on talented individuals who practice and preserve the cultural traditions of the caribbean and beyond, highlighting a history and evolution of diversity in the diaspora. Whether it be dance, music or the healing arts, the evolution of these art forms continue to morph and augment in beauty and scope through their continued work and dedication.