In our time spent searching for primary and secondary sources to use in our research, I have learned that there are few secondary sources concerning the migration of Congolese people to Kirksville. This, of course, makes sense for the temporal scale within which we are working. This migration has only occurred within the past 5 or so years, so there hasn’t been a heavy focus on documenting their experiences.
That’s where we come in.
In addition to looking over previous student research projects for more information, I think it would be a good idea to contact the Truman faculty members who have helped integrate the Congolese people into the community as well as the Kirksville school district teachers and anyone else who might have experience working with them. And, of course, we plan to conduct interviews with the Congolese people as well in order to transcribe their firsthand experiences of moving to Kirksville and living here.
Something interesting to note: I found this map of Congolese refugee resettlement patterns that shows which states have the highest Congolese population (at least, in 2013). While reading a KTVO article, I noticed that Richard Yampana, a Congolese immigrant, said he had lived in Illinois and Indiana—where there was already an established Congolese population—before moving to Kirksville. I am excited to explore the connections between Kirksville’s Congolese population and other populations around the country and how this affects their definitions of community.
You can find our primary source bibliography here.
And our secondary source bibliography here.