Samuel Proctor Oral History Program

This event is conducted in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities and American Library Association grant, “Latino Americans: 500 Years of History,” organized by Sarah McNamara (UNC – Chapel Hill) and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program. 

First published in 1971, The Truth About Them is the saga of a Cuban-American family’s experiences in New York City, Ybor City and Tampa in the wake of the Great Depression. While written as historical fiction centering on the Morejon family, the novel is based on the author’s life as a young Latino living in the Jim Crow South.

The Morejons’ story is revealed by a narrator, Pini, a left-wing journalist who collects “tales borne by sentimental conversations” among improbably heroic figures such as his family’s matriarchal grandmother, the first to reach America in 1890. She is but one of many colorful characters the author introduces. Themes such as immigration, gender, motherhood, childhood, labor and assimilation guide this book.

To elevate discussion, we will explore the intersections of memory by listening to clips from Jose Yglesias’ oral history.

Discussion Leader: Sarah McNamara, Ybor City Historian

For more information about this and other programs from the “Latino Americans: 500 Years of History” grant, please see the August 2015 press release.