Description
One Small Step conversation partners Mohamed Shoreibah (47) and Lynda Wilson (72) discuss immigration, political misinformation, Birmingham's history of racism and political struggle, and their hopes for its future.Subject Log / Time Code
(track 1) Lynda (L) shares how becoming a parent shaped her career as an educator in the field of nursing. Mohamed (M) shares how he and his family got to Birmingham.
M remembers being a first year resident working at an ICU in New Jersey during 9/11, and he recalls hearing a senior colleague saying “it was Islamist terrorists.”
(track 2) M shares why his mother is the most influential person to him, and L explains why her sister is the most influential person in her life.
M shares his personal political values, saying he has social justice values. L says she’s a lifelong democrat, and they both discuss socialism and helping people so that they can become independent and support others themselves.
M shares a story about a time he was discriminated against when someone told him “I can tell you’re not a native of this country” and how M responded. He discusses how immigrants are treated despite the sacrifices they make to get to the US.
M shares what it was like to grow up in Cairo, Egypt. L talks about her upbringing in the DC area. L mentions being involved in anti-Vietnam War protests, and M shares thoughts on how people treated anti-war protestors.
M discusses the Arab Spring and the connection between access to information and radicalization. He also considers misinformation, the right to protest, and due process as related to the January 6 US Capitol attack.
L and M discuss social media’s role in the spread of misinformation and consider what avenues for civil debate with evidence should be created.
M shares how he and his family landed in Alabama, saying he knew about the state’s history of struggle and the Civil Rights Movement. He says he took his children to the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham (Birmingham Civil Rights Institute). M says that he has been involved in more protests in Birmingham than anywhere else, saying that his children have been behind getting him out to protests.
L considers how immigration relates to her work as an educator in nursing, and about working with nurses from other countries.
M says Birmingham has the energy to continue to change and is optimistic about its future. L is also optimistic, but wishes it wasn’t as segregated as it still is from its racist history.
Participants
- Mohamed Shoreibah
- Lynda Wilson