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- Surviving the Depression and Segregation
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Retired pharmacist Ben Sifuentes was only 10 years old in 1938 when his father died, the year after his grandfather died. The oldest of five kids, Sifuentes did whatever he could to help feed his family in an era before food stamps, before free school lunch, and when Mexican-Americans faced severe discrimination. This is a first-person oral history.
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Related Pieces
Piece Description
Retired pharmacist Ben Sifuentes was only 10 years old in 1938 when his father died, the year after his grandfather died. The oldest of five kids, Sifuentes did whatever he could to help feed his family in an era before food stamps, before free school lunch, and when Mexican-Americans faced severe discrimination. This is a first-person oral history.
Timing and Cues
Suggested HOST INTRO:
The current economic crisis has many people making comparisons to the Great Depression. Retired pharmicist Ben Sifuentes lived through the depression in Austin, Texas at a time when discrimination against Blacks and Mexicans was official policy. From his point of view, there's really no comparison.
BACK ANNOUNCE:
Ben Sifuentes is a retired pharmacist who lives with his wife in the house where she was born in the Guadalupe Neighborhood of Austin, Texas. This piece was produced by KUT's Alex Avila.
Additional Files
- Ben SIfuentes and grandfather (image006.jpg)
- Ben Sifuentes (image002.jpg)
