Building Community: The Ethiopians of Los Angeles

California is home to an estimated 100,000 Ethiopians, many of whom left their home country to escape political persecution, victimization and repression, especially after the Ethiopian revolution of 1974. Before the revolution, few Ethiopians left Ethiopia to settle elsewhere. Today, continuing repression and food crises continue to drive people out.

The Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California, which investigates the role of religion in communities, became interested in Los Angeles’ Ethiopian group because of the community’s strong connection to religion. Rebecca Haile, an Ethiopian American lawyer and writer, who has lived in the United States since 1976, helped Project Director Donald Miller conceptualize the project and make connections to an Ethiopian community church.

The project’s photographer was Ara Oshagan, who for more than 10 years has been photographing survivors of the 1915 Armenian genocide. Oshagan immersed himself in the community, attended religious and secular events, and took hundreds of photographs while Haile conducted 13 in-depth digital audio interviews with congregants of different ages, genders, education backgrounds and occupations. The project’s goal was to hold up a mirror to this community to show the role of religion in preserving Ethiopian culture and how various issues were affecting people’s lives,” said Miller. The result is a rich multimedia DVD that includes colorful still photographs, traditional and contemporary music, and sound bites from the personal interviews.

Tags: California Council for Humanities
Topics: Arts, Building Community, Civic Life, Family, Immigrants, Refugees, Religion

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