Gateways/Portales: Interview with Dr. Maria Teresa Unger Palmer

Object Details

Creator

Anacostia Community Museum

Scope and Contents

Dr. Maria Teresa Unger Palmer founded an immigrant church in Chapel Hill, established the first Spanish immersion preschool in North Carolina in 1996, became the first Latina appointed to North Carolina's Board of Education in 1999, and became the first Latina elected official in North Carolina as a council member for the town of Chapel Hill in 2013. Palmer talked about her family and where they lived; growing up in Lima, Peru; her college experience at Jacksonville State University in Alabama; her first impression of Alabama; her arrival in North Carolina; her first impression of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; her graduate school experience at University of North Carolina (UNC); and how Chapel Hill has changed since her arrival. Palmer talked about her first job in the United States as a summer missionary providing help to migrant farmers; the founding of a Hispanic congregation in North Carolina and the community's reception to it; working with young people in the community; fighting North Carolina's voter suppression laws; her arrest at the Moral Monday march; her start in politics and the political process; meeting her husband, John Herrera; and helping to organize El Fiesta del Pueblo and the soccer tournament for the festival. Palmer also spoke about what makes her happy, proud; lessons she learned; what she does for fun; and how she talked her children about her social justice work. Clips of this interview were included in the 'Undocumented and Unafraid,' 'Church as Safe Space,' and 'Recognition and Representation' sections of the exhibition.

Interview. Related to exhibition 'Gateways/Portales.' The MP4 video files are grouped with related SMI files, PPN files, XML documents, and BIM files. Dated 20161027.

Date

2016 October 27

Extent

18 Video recordings (MP4 Video (.MP4), born digital)

2 Sound recordings (MP3 Sound Recording )

Type

Archival materials

Video recordings

Sound recordings

Topic

Hispanic Americans

Latin Americans -- United States

Immigrants

Communities

Place

Washington (D.C.)

Baltimore (Md.)

Charlotte (N.C.)

Raleigh (N.C.)

United States

Collection Rights

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Citation

Gateways/Portales: Interview with Dr. Maria Teresa Unger Palmer, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.