Audio
Armen Remembers Trying to “Fit In”
Transcript
Jermakian (Armenian Music and Foreigner):
My mother used to love to play the music. It was Armenian and Turkish music that they played. And in the summertime the windows would be opened. And my playmates now were both Armenian and non Armenian. And they'd hear that music coming out, you know, they'd call us "foreigners" and things like that because of that music. And I used to go home and tell my mother, "Shut it off," or "Stop that music. Everybody thinks we're..." and that I distinctly remember because we didn't want to, and I love that music now myself but at that time, you know, they always think you're, they always looked upon you as being not native, you know. They looked down on you, they did. At the beginning they did look down on you.
Description
Armen Jermakian recalls having his mother turning off Armenian music so they didn’t stand out in the neighborhood.
Duration
37 seconds
Credit
Ellis Island Oral History Collection
Date Created
09/26/1996
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