Sierra Scott and Claudia Yaujar-Amaro

[00:01] SIERRA SCOTT: My name is Sierra Scott. I'm 61 years old. Today is October 21, 2024. I'm in Wichita, Kansas. My one step partner once Ha. My one small step partner is Claudia. Can I do that over? Because you're not going to edit that, are you? Will you fix it? We don't edit anything. I should have mentioned that. It's just one take. We're good. Okay.

[00:27] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: My name is Claudia Yaujar-Amaro I am 48 years old. Today is Monday, October 21, 2024. I am in my home, Wichita, Kansas. My one small step partner is Sierra Scott. Sierra's bio I grew up living in a double white trailer and worked hard to get a college degree in journalism that led to a 37 year career as a TV news anchor and TV show host. I've traveled to 27 countries and all 50 states in the United States. I don't believe any of this would have been possible without my faith in God. I'm grateful for all my many blessings and have learned so much from my mistakes. I'm single and have no children. I guess my first question is how was your childhood?

[01:21] SIERRA SCOTT: It was pretty perfect in that my parents were so loving and so supportive. I really didn't realize how poor we were until later in my life because my mom and dad were so caring and giving and just they instilled hard work. That was their biggest thing that they came from farm families, both of them. And so they instilled with me a very strong work ethic. They instilled in me a belief, a high value system. And so it really was a great childhood. But again, not materialistically, it was not very interesting.

[02:05] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: And I said very interesting because nowadays we define happiness as having so many toys and having the latest TV and all that stuff. So there's some things that I have some similar life like yours, I think. Like my father said. One day I remember I came home and I asked my dad, dad, are we poor? And he's like, he was like, do you have any arms missing? Are you hungry? So to me that was what defined poverty. So I'm like you. I never felt in my life poor. I felt like there's situations where they're not good situations in life, but they're temporarily. So that's something that I really agree with you. So in your bio you said you work hard to get a college degree in journalism. Can you elaborate a little bit more on that?

[03:00] SIERRA SCOTT: Well, I was one of those that I wasn't given a lot of money or a lot of breaks. But I realized that education was the one thing that was going to give me that break. And so I was one. I didn't go out and party a lot. I forwent a lot of gatherings because I would stay home and study. So my first semester I had a 3.8, but I worked for it. It's not that I was smarter than anybody else, but I worked harder than most people did. And I think that's really, again, I go back to my parents instilling that work ethic in me.

[03:34] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Have anybody ever mentioned to you how like just saying, like, oh, you're so lucky without like really recognizing all the hard work that is behind that, that.

[03:43] SIERRA SCOTT: Is the toughest thing for me because to look at somebody from the outside, once they've gotten to a certain level, you think that, oh, they just happened overnight. It was so easy. And I've had that said to me many times is, well, of course that you're happy because your life is so easy. Well, it's not. And I've fought for everything that I've gotten. There's still a lot of people still living in that trailer park that I came from that didn't get their. Didn't fight their way out. And so I realize that I'm blessed in a lot of ways because sometimes doors do open for you. And I don't downplay the fact that I have been given breaks along the way or had people help me along the way. No man's an island. But yeah, people always had that perception of me. That was easy and it really wasn't. And it isn't even to this day.

[04:36] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: What was the most difficult part of you finishing college?

[04:42] SIERRA SCOTT: I think the hardest part was I was such a perfectionist. And I remember that one of the classes that I took, I got a D on a test and it had never happened to me before. I always studied so hard and it was so hard for me to overcome that because that really was an eye opening experience for me that even though I did put the time and effort in, it didn't always pay off. And that was hard for that. My ego took a real hit on that one. But I made up for it because what I did is then I found somebody that could work with me and make me better in that area.

[05:25] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: You say you've traveled to 27 countries, which is the one that you fell in love the most?

[05:30] SIERRA SCOTT: Oh my gosh, that's a hard one. Because they're all so different and I love them for different reasons. But I would say the people of Cuba were my favorite. When I got to Cuba, I didn't know what to expect. I'd never been in a country that was that objectively poor. There are many countries that don't have anything, but Cuba was probably the most difficult. And I was traveling with some students from Friends University. They were performing in the jazz festival there. And I remember because the poverty was just so overwhelming. And a lot of these students, Friends University, they had never seen that level of poverty. And one of the students turned to me and he said, I don't understand. They seem happier than we are. I don't understand. And I thought, well, I'm the journalist here. It's my job. So I got together some Cuban people that were willing to be interviewed in front of the kids. And I turned to one of them and I said, our kids are confused. And I said, no disrespect to you, but we perceive that we have been blessed with everything. And by our standards, you don't have much. How can you be so happy? And the gentleman I'll never forget smiled the most beautiful smile. And he said something similar to what you said earlier in the interview. He said, I have food in my stomach, I have a family who loves me and we're all healthy. He said, what more is there? And I thought if all of us felt that way, we would be ecstatically happy every day of our lives. But that's not the way we think, right?

[07:12] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Wow. That was really impacting. And I'm sure that was a big lesson for those students.

[07:18] SIERRA SCOTT: Some of them left their suitcases behind, all their clothes, all their shoes, everything.

[07:23] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Wow. Are you comfortable? If I ask you what religion do you profess? And because you talk about your faith in God and if you can just share with me and then also, how do you live that faith?

[07:36] SIERRA SCOTT: Boy, I'm in a lot of ways the worst Christian ever. I try, but I fail miserably on daily basis. It's really hard. I am actually non denominational. I think I've been every denomination at one point. It was funny. I was raised Presbyterian. My parents are Presbyterian. I also went to the Methodist church, the Baptist church, the assembly of God. I think I've done them all. But what I found is the Bible really is more what I want to study and read for myself. So I don't go by doctrines.

[08:11] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Good. So tell me a little bit about your faith in God.

[08:15] SIERRA SCOTT: You know, that was the one thing that I am really grateful for that my parents instilled into me. Again, they grew up poor too. They were both from Farm families went to a Christian college, Buena Vista College in Iowa. And the one thing that they raised me in, the church, and I think the high moral values and standards and ideals really helped me in my career. Again, I fall short. I make mistakes every day, but at least I have that value system in place.

[08:49] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Beautiful. So you talked already about blessings and you also mentioned that what has been your biggest blessing in life.

[09:03] SIERRA SCOTT: Wow. I think my biggest blessing, and it's going to sound odd, is my health. When you have your health, you technically have everything because that's something money can't buy. And to have to overcome health issues makes everything more difficult in life. And not having access to healthcare to help you be the best you can possibly be is really difficult.

[09:36] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: That's very interesting. And if we talk about health as everything that entails, mental health, physical health. Yeah. So good. I think that those are all my questions about. On your bio.

[09:47] SIERRA SCOTT: You have asked really good questions. You made me think. I love it. I really do love it. I love your bio. Very interesting. Claudia is the oldest sister of five, a bilingual journalist and marketer, originally from Mexico, now based in Wichita, Kansas. As an immigrant, she's deeply committed to advocating for justice, community engagement and effective communication. With a passion for storytelling and empowering underrepresented voices, Claudia plays an active role in her local community. Her work bridges cultural gaps and fosters understanding, making her a vital figure in Wichita's diverse landscape. I think the first thing that stood out to me is you're an immigrant. I'm actually fourth generation. Believe it or not, I'm American, so my great grandfather was an immigrant. How old were you when you came here? Was this always a goal of yours? I've got a million questions.

[10:45] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Right. No, I was 12 years old when I moved here. It was in the late 80s. You don't have to do the math. Well, I already say my age, so we first moved to Colorado. I graduated from high school in Colorado and you know, I was only 12. So it was my mom's decisions to bring us. And that was after my father was killed in Mexico. My mom was a widow of 30 years old back then with four girls. My fifth, my sister was born here after my mom's second marriage. But the reason we moved is because my mom was so afraid. She never had to work before. My father used to provide for everything and when he was killed, my mom just didn't feel protected. She didn't know how to protect her four daughters and I'm the oldest. So she decided to move to Colorado with a Sister.

[11:35] SIERRA SCOTT: Wow, that's powerful. So when you came to the United States, did you speak English? Fluently. What was Was a culture shock.

[11:45] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: How was. It was a culture shock. I miss my friends a lot. They didn't have in Colorado a lot of radio stations in Spanish, and I love music, and they had a couple, but the music that they played was, like, very northeast, like, from the north of Mexico. And I was like, I really like pop and other type of music that I couldn't hear here. So I used to miss my friends a lot. I remember writing big letters, probably like four sheets of, like, eight pages. Letters that I used to write to my friends who were in middle school. And I remember describing them, like, how it will snow in Colorado, because they didn't usually, in Mexico never snow. So I will describe everything that I had, but it took me several years to really adapt to the United States. I think it wasn't hard to learn English because I'm from Tijuana originally, which is a border, and I used to watch cartoons in English since I was little. So usually they say that if your brain is exposed to another language at a young age, it's easier to pick it up. So I guess after high school, I. I already spoke it. And then I keep learning. You know, I keep having. And I will always have my accent, but no English. I didn't know English.

[13:10] SIERRA SCOTT: What was the biggest cultural difference that you had to learn to adapt to or overcome?

[13:19] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: I think friendship. I still have contact with my friends from kindergarten in Mexico. And people in Mexico are very warm. When you become friends, you become family and, you know, like. I don't know. I remember in high school, like, when I was in Mexico with my friends, and we used to go out for an ice cream, and one of us didn't have money, somebody was gonna come up and be like, oh, I'll get you. You know, I got the ice cream. All of us had to have ice cream or candy or whatever. I remember the first, like. Like, my heart broken, which is crazy. Something little. But I remember there was a friend that I consider my friend here in the US And I remember I asked her for, like, a quarter because I needed to buy something at the cafeteria. And then, yeah, she's like, oh, yeah, yeah, here. And I remember the next day, she was like, where are my 25 cents? And I know it wasn't about the money, but it was that feeling that I just never experience in Mexico that's so interesting. And I still think it's a cultural shock because earlier when you were Talking about Cuba and how I actually had a course on Friends University on multicultural communications. And I kind of studied the differences between Mexico and the US and how in the US Success is more like material stuff. Like, you know, success is more like having a house, having a car, having. So I feel like everything is a little bit more materialistic here. Although I'm very bicultural, and we can talk more about that. There's some things that I love about the American culture, and sometimes. So I'm not criticizing, but in this case specifically, that's what I feel.

[15:11] SIERRA SCOTT: That's funny that you said that, because I've already had a question about that, because it's interesting to me, because you have knowledge of two completely different cultures in ways. What advantages do you think you've had because of the US but what does Mexico do better than we do, do you think?

[15:33] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: I think, like I said, family, relationships, culture. I mean, I love being bicultural. I love it. I feel like in that I feel proud, and at the same time, I feel responsible of, like, not showing. But I just feel like. I've always feel like if we were able to mix those two cultures, like you say, we will be very happy and very smart and very successful. That's how I feel. But it's like, I still feel that divide between, like, even here in Wichita, like, my American friends, they're like, oh, I don't know. I don't feel comfortable going to the Nomar area. You know, I don't know because I don't know the area, or I had questions in the past where they said, like, I love the bread from the bakery, but do you think people will get upset if I walk in? I'm like, no, they want your business. And the same with my Latino friends. You know, here in Wichita, you hardly see Latinos in downtown. So I love to bring my friends to, like, downtown cafeterias. So it's hard for me to describe what Mexico does better, because I feel like the combination of both cultures, it will just make a better better of us.

[16:55] SIERRA SCOTT: I love that, and I've experienced that as well. So I've been to Mexico, like you're saying, in a lot of countries. What I found fascinating is I would be in a country and I'd get invited into somebody's personal home to have dinner. Yeah, I didn't even know them, and they made me feel like family. Darfur was a great example of that. And, yeah, Americans don't do that. It's amazing. So one of the things that you said, which I love, it's in your bio. Is that your work? Bridges, cultural gaps. And I love. I'm all about building bridges because I think that's the only way we're going to solve a lot of these political problems because we've become so divisive and contentious and. And we're trying to build a bridge here today. I mean, that's really what we do. What do you think is the best way to build a bridge? What do you do to build those bridges?

[17:45] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: I feel like being authentic, you know, like, in my case, I talked earlier about my accent. I talk about I'm an immigrant. I'm really transparent with my life, and I try to be myself in any space. And I feel like. And I'm not judging. I have a lot of friends who. They feel that they have to be one person when they're with the Latino community, and they have to be another person when they're. And I feel like in that, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just whatever makes people comfortable. But I don't believe that that will create or build bridges. I feel like you have to be authentic, show up as you are, and that way you're like, in my case, my American friends will understand a little bit of my culture within me, and then my Latino friends will understand that I'm also bicultural because I grew up here and I embrace a lot of the things that Americans do. So I feel like being authentic. Is the answer to that question one.

[18:48] SIERRA SCOTT: Of the things that I've always wanted to ask, because sometimes I'm offensive without realizing I'm being offensive, and I'm really inquisitive, but it's taken wrong. How is the best way to talk to somebody like you? When I really have a serious question, I really want to know, but what could I do that would not be offensive? Or what could I do that might be offensive to somebody?

[19:15] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: And it's hard to answer that question because, like I said, I have become very comfortable on answering uncomfortable questions. But I know that not a lot of people in the Latino community will feel that way. I think curiosity is another word that comes to my mind. Just be curious. Just try to remove the assumptions. And when you ask your questions, try to not make them, like, from your heart, like I said, without assumptions. Like, you know, I'm really curious about this. How do you do this? Or how do you. Or why did this happen? Or why you haven't done this? You know, I feel like that's being really authentically. Koreas will help.

[19:57] SIERRA SCOTT: And then my last question. What Advice would you give to somebody who maybe is coming from. They're an immigrant from somewhere else to help them find their way because you've been there, done that. What advice would you give somebody?

[20:13] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: That's a hard question. Because I feel I always, when I share my story, I always like to say my story is one of 11 million stories. So I don't like when people put us all in one bucket. So it's hard for me to represent or. So my advice will be, be open mind. Learn from your experience. And that's just like a personal, like, you know, learn, learn every way. Again, be curious, ask, ask questions. Ask, ask people. And I guess the, the main one I'm gonna be, I. I'm gonna say that just came to me. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid.

[20:54] SIERRA SCOTT: I love that. Excellent. Wow. Your answer's blew me away. And it's nice to be able to ask some of these questions. I love it. So. All right, I'm gonna go to our questions. We have some questions that we're supposed to ask. What made you want to do this interview today?

[21:14] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Well, I said it before the mic went on. Well, first I've seen some friends done it, so I'm like, huh. And I think someone offered this to me a long time ago when they first started doing the interviews. And at that time I just didn't feel like or I'm always busy, so I think I didn't make it a priority. Now I have a one year old granddaughter and I think one of my hopes is that in the future she listens to this.

[21:46] SIERRA SCOTT: That's powerful. I love that. That's. I can't think of a better reason.

[21:55] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: I'm crazy about my granddaughter. Now I only have one son, so she's right. Now everything for me and my husband.

[22:02] SIERRA SCOTT: I love that. See you again, family.

[22:05] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yeah. So I'll ask you, can you tell me about one or two people in your life who have had the biggest influence on you and what did they teach you?

[22:14] SIERRA SCOTT: I think the biggest influence was actually my grandfather. Very, very dedicated farmer. Very dedicated to community service. He was such a great role model for me. I just remember he always said your words, your bond, and he lived that. No one ever needed a contract with my grandfather. If he told you it was done, it was done. And he was such a genuine man who lived the values. And when he passed away, people came up and spoke at his funeral. He had done so much in that community. I didn't even know. He never took credit for it. He helped build the Church. I never knew that he volunteered days of his time. And he was a big influence on me. And I think the second influence was actually an outside influence. When I was in high school, I had a class, and it was a history class. But my teacher explained that every day we're making history, which is interesting. It was an interesting concept. So every Friday we had a competition where we would compete to talk about the current events that had happened that week. And it was really fun. And so we all kind of specialized. Somebody specialized in sports. Somebody specialized in movies and entertainment. And I took. I took current events. And that sparked my interest then in becoming a journalist, because I thought, wow, you're recording history every day. It was really neat. Nice. How about you? What two people had influence on you?

[23:51] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: My parents, definitely. So my father died when I was 10 years old. But, like, just like I share with you, he left so many. I don't know how to say it. Like, he said some advices, some things that I saw him do, and I. So even though I didn't spend much time in my life with him, I think he was a big influence. He grew up poor. He overcame poverty. He never complained about life. He was always a hardworking man. And then my mom, of course, her being so brave to come to a country that she didn't know up to this day. We lived in this country for over 30 years. She doesn't speak English because she's never had the opportunity. She had to work first, like, three jobs to raise the four daughters. And then, fortunately, she found a good man that she's married with now. In fact, I just became an aunt again. My youngest sister, she just had a boy today, so she's in South Korea. So my mom definitely, all her courage, even not speaking the language, working hard to raise for girls, first by herself, and then ending up with five. I'm so proud of my sisters. And I think that's because of the work that my mom did and everything that she had to endure. I think that that's what gave me the courage to fight for justice. Cause my mom went through so much, so much that was so unfair. So now I feel like I don't have to stay silent. And every time I see another immigrant woman or another immigrant or anybody else going through some injustice, I just can't stay quiet.

[25:47] SIERRA SCOTT: That triggered another question for me, because I did notice that in your bio about standing up and being, you know, a voice for the voiceless. How do you think you can do that? Because I know it's hard to do that. Without offending the person who's actually being offensive, if that makes sense. How do you do that and make people listen?

[26:14] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: I think I have been able to learn how to manage myself where like I learned to ask questions without like raising my voice. And sometimes, trust me, like I'm. I've been into meetings that when I go back home, I'm vomiting all night because I had to manage myself so much, like, you know, the state. But I learn to ask questions and I learned to be comfortable in uncomfortable spaces because I know many times and I know many times most of the time when people invite me to some meetings, I know I make a lot of people uncomfortable with my questions. But that's all I'm doing. I'm just asking questions. I'm not pointing fingers. I'm trying not to blame anybody. I just want answers.

[27:09] SIERRA SCOTT: That's powerful. You just taught me something that. Thank you for sharing that. That's really interesting. So your other family members, your 1 of 5, what are they doing? Are they still here? Are they?

[27:24] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yeah. I'm so proud of all my sisters. So the four of us, from my dad, we're all here in the area and my youngest sister, she's in South Korea because of her husband's work. They're great. I'm gonna start from what is close to the heart. They amazing mothers. They're wonderful wives. They're hardworking. All of them are working hard. One of them doesn't work per pay, but she's a mother of a kid with autism and she has done amazing things in the community because she worked for an organization and she's one of the few bilingual people who has helped Spanish speaking mothers with kids with autism. She's very knowledgeable about the laws and how to protect children with disabilities in school. And so I admire her for all of that. And then my other two sisters have worked with attorneys for many, many years and they're very hardworking, very dedicated. Again, all of them are wonderful mothers. And yeah, they're around and I'm so lucky and I feel so blessed to have them around.

[28:36] SIERRA SCOTT: I'm just curious, you read my bio. What did you expect? Am I what you expected or no?

[28:43] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Well, first of all, you're so beautiful.

[28:46] SIERRA SCOTT: Thank you. That was.

[28:47] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: But I know you've mentioned that for you is more important beautiful than inside. So to be honest with you, I didn't come with a lot of expectations, but I see the beauty that it's inside you is even more beautiful than how you are outside.

[29:05] SIERRA SCOTT: I thought the same thing of you. You have a warmth. I can tell you're passionate and compassionate. I love the fact that you are trying again, back to using the word bridges. That's the only way we're going to get out of this, is building bridges.

[29:21] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yeah.

[29:21] SIERRA SCOTT: And I love the fact that you. You use that as a method to improve life for everybody.

[29:29] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yeah. Do you want to get into some controversial.

[29:32] SIERRA SCOTT: Let's do it. Let's do it.

[29:34] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Because I'd love to.

[29:35] SIERRA SCOTT: I want to hear your. That's why I'm here.

[29:36] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yeah. And not. It's not my opinion. I'm just going to share. I don't know about my political values, but the times that we're living right now. So you just talked about building bridges and helping others. And sometimes they feel frustrated because with all these years, I haven't been able to get my green card. And the reason I'm sharing this is because just last week, on Friday, I received a letter from immigration saying that they're denying my green card because I haven't been able to establish that I deserve to be in this country.

[30:17] SIERRA SCOTT: You just made me tear up. You've done so many things and this.

[30:22] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Fight has been so hard. I've been in detention two times for immigration. A person that I've never thought. Growing up, I never thought I was just the way you were. Sharing, like, really good grades. I hardly ever drink alcohol. And again, I'm not judging anybody. I'm just like you. I'm. I just decided to live my life in a way that I needed because I was the oldest of my sister. I needed to be like a good figure for them. I didn't want my mom to go through hard times because of me. So I tried to be like the best daughter, the best sister. Not drinking, not going out as a teenager, like, just studying hard, working, and then all the work that I've done. And then now they're telling me my son applied for us in 2021. And they were just taking so much time. And then finally on Friday, I received that letter and I'm like, I don't know what they want so we can get into that political values there. Which because I haven't been able to vote in this country is hard for me. And I don't declare myself favoring any party because I don't believe none of the. I just believe that both of the parties just play with us. I think they play with our lives. And they have no idea the harm that they do because Wichita is my home. This is my home, and this is what I I lived in Colorado. Then I moved to California for a couple years. And then in the mid-90s, we moved to Kansas because of my stepdad's work. He's been working on the aircraft. He just retired a few months ago from the aircraft industry, and that's what moved us to Wichita. But Wichita is my home. This is where I became an adult. This is where I fell in love. This is when my son was born, where my granddaughter is born, where my sisters are, and they just don't want to give me a green card.

[32:20] SIERRA SCOTT: But you've been here since you were 12. I don't understand.

[32:24] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: I don't have any criminal background like people claim. Like, you know. Oh, you know. Yeah.

[32:31] SIERRA SCOTT: I don't even know where to go with that. That makes me sad. And all the things that you've done to try to improve relations and. Wow.

[32:41] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yeah. And I just wanted to share. I know this is gonna be. I don't know for how many. How many people are gonna listen to it, but I just. I'm just sharing it because this is the reality of the political environment that we're living right now.

[32:57] SIERRA SCOTT: It's crazy and, you know, to go back to political stances. So I think the general person would say that I fall on the conservative side, but honestly, I'm all over the board. I consider myself more middle of the road. And on some issues, I'm definitely more liberal, and some issues, I'm more conservative. I mean, it's individual issue. I'm not a, oh, I vote red, or, oh, I vote blue. I'm not that kind of person. I kind of go issue to issue, and my stands really are very all over the board. Wow. What can I do to help you? I want to help you. Now. This makes me sad.

[33:35] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: I guess I'm going to need letters so I can prove to them that I'm really not. I don't know who they think I am. I knew. And. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. Like I said, talking about the political values. I'm with you historically, and I've studied the reason I'm so involved politically in the way that I cannot vote. But I have been inspiring people to vote. I have driven campaigns for more Latinos to vote. And I'm more about the issues because times change. Historically, Republicans have done more for immigrants than Democrats. But at the same time, nowadays, the language that some Republicans are using when they refer to us is just very damaging for many people. Many people are in depression. I try to be strong. I usually try to Surround myself with a good system so I can take care of my mental health and stuff. But. But it's not easy.

[34:41] SIERRA SCOTT: No, it's not.

[34:43] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: So, yeah, it's. I just wanted to share it out.

[34:47] SIERRA SCOTT: No, I'm glad you did. I'm blown away. And I'm blown away that you are still continuing to try to do good things, even though you're not necessarily being rewarded for it in the way you should be. It is amazing. And, you know, the political landscape. And that's what bothers me, and that's why I signed up here, really, was. I just. I want to start a conversation, because now if you try to have a conversation with somebody out in public, it can get really emotional, intense, because they've already made a decision on who you are. If you're not careful, you can make a decision on who they are. And you're not listening anymore.

[35:29] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Right. Yeah, I agree with you. I even have. Like, even on social media, people are not open to. They start attacking each other, and I'm just, like, looking at the post and I'm like, can they just listen and then maybe say, like, well, yeah, maybe you write. But, you know, things like that. But I'm like, people start attacking each other, they start blocking each other. So I don't know.

[35:53] SIERRA SCOTT: Yeah, Well, I think. And I just. To piggyback off of that, people will say things on social media that they would never say to your face.

[36:01] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yeah.

[36:02] SIERRA SCOTT: And they will be mean and hurtful, but if you were sat across from them, they would never have put that or said that. And it is crazy what that has allowed us to do.

[36:12] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: I know. I know. Yeah.

[36:17] SIERRA SCOTT: Can you talk about a time that you felt excluded by a political party?

[36:24] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: We're gonna get into some wild waters here. I did a.

[36:28] SIERRA SCOTT: Say what you want.

[36:29] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: I did a civil disobedience in 2013. That's when I was arrested for the second time, and I was in detention for 17 days. It was very public, very political. Over. I want to say, over 30 congressmen wrote a letter to President Obama asking for a release. And then I came back to Wichita, and it was nine of us who did the civil disobedience. A friend from Chicago from Los Angeles. So my friend from Los Angeles, she was welcomed by her community with mariachi. And then she later was invited to be a counselor for the governor. And all of us undocumented. And then my friend in Chicago, she was named the Chicagoan of the Year. And then this wasn't actually the political. Well, yeah, it was a couple things that happened After I did that, I came to Wichita. No Mariachi, no Chicagoan of the Year. But I tried to go to an immigration topic at KU and I sent an email in. My email states the name of the action that we did. And at that time it just happened. So people were aware of that. And they denied me attending to the conference because they said I was too political. And then also I remember I was trying to speak with, I think at the time the congressman was Pompeo. So I went to a conference and it was a peaceful thing. I don't remember what we were asking for. I was with a group and he just didn't. He knew who I was and then he didn't want to speak to me, so he went to another door. So, yeah, a lot of people know politically or knew back then who I was because I did the civil disobedience. And part of that story is reading at least four or five books. So I've been rejected. So the reason I mentioned my friends in Los Angeles and Chicago is because Kansas is so different politically. So I wasn't welcome. I wasn't, you know, it wasn't the civil disobedience that I did. It wasn't like, well seen.

[38:38] SIERRA SCOTT: Would that still be the case today, do you think?

[38:42] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: I think I have been able to gain the respect from many local politicians and many people in the community. So at least I have some respect. I don't know if they like what I do and they like me, but I feel that I have been able through all these years to show that I'm not trying to gain anything, just personal, but I do care for this community and, yeah, that shows.

[39:08] SIERRA SCOTT: I can tell it's sincere.

[39:10] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yeah. Thank you. Do you remember when you first became aware of politics?

[39:18] SIERRA SCOTT: I think it goes back to when I was talking about in my high school years in that class. Learning about politics was fascinating to me because at that point I didn't understand there's always something behind the issue. Because sometimes you'll read and you'll think, why aren't they passing that? It makes total. It's logical. It's a great law. And then you find out, oh, well, this company doesn't want that. Or there's always something behind it and fascinated me. And that's what got me interested in being a journalist, was finding out the story behind the story. And so, yeah, from that early age on, I was one of those. I knew when I was going to college that was going to be my major. I never changed my major. So many people do they get there and they change their major and they do all sorts of stuff. But I knew that's really what I wanted to do. I wanted to expose the truth. I'm very dedicated to the truth, and I really want people to have the facts. So that's been a drive for me.

[40:22] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yeah. And something that I do want to say also, because I know politically I've been talking a lot about immigration because of my situation. But I also want to say that a lot of people believe that immigrants will only care about immigration because of the immigration reform. But we do not like, you know, we do care about health. Now you mentioned it, about the truth behind the truth. We do care about education. One of the topics that have got me a little bit confused lately is the closing of schools here in Wichita, because in my perception, all the schools that they're closing, they're all in the high Latino population. And they did that last year. And the ones that they have to close next year, they're also in the north side of Wichita and the high Latino population. And again, it's one of those things that I wanna know why or who's making those decisions. And I have asked those questions, but I have not had the answers that I need. But I do want people to know that we care about our community, that we care about other things. On top of immigration, of course, immigration, it's a top one. Just because we haven't had any. I mean, people don't understand when we said, like, immigration, like, the system is broken. And this is one of the examples why there's people. And I'm not someone to say who gets a green card or who doesn't, but there's people with other things in their background that they get the green card really easy. Because everything in immigration is discretionary, and that's why it's one of the top issues. But at the same time, like I said, health you talked earlier about, I'm always caring about mental health on immigrants and everybody in the community. Again, education, civic engagement. And civic engagement again, doesn't mean only vote, because many of us cannot vote. We can volunteer, we can be on boards. We can sit where at the table. And not being on the menu.

[42:26] SIERRA SCOTT: I like that quote.

[42:27] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yeah.

[42:28] SIERRA SCOTT: So to go back to. Because the civil disobedience obviously has caused you issues throughout the rest of your life, would you do it again?

[42:39] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yes.

[42:40] SIERRA SCOTT: Wow.

[42:41] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yes. Because the reason I did it is to bring my son back to his country. Otherwise, I wouldn't have an opportunity to do that and come back home because my husband was deported in 2006. So I left with. I left the country to be with him and that I wasn't able to come back if I didn't do the civil disobedience and bring my son back to his home. So I will do it again for me, for my family and for my community.

[43:11] SIERRA SCOTT: Do you think you've had advantages because you're in the U.S. would you have had the same opportunities if you would have stayed in Mexico?

[43:20] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: No. I am bilingual. Here. I am. My mom cried when I had to go to Mexico with my husband. And she asked me, she told me to forgive her, to bring me to a country that wasn't mine. And I told him it wasn't her fault. I told her that she gave me everything I needed to succeed in life. But at the same time, the opportunities that I have here, I grew up as an American. So the opportunities that I have here, I will not have it in Mexico. And then going back to Mexico after growing up in the US it was really tough. I was undocumented in Mexico for one year because the government in Mexico didn't allow or didn't recognized my identifications from the U.S. the Society in Mexico wasn't ready for people like me and my son. So my son was bullied for being American. So this is my home. And that's all I can say. Wichita is my home.

[44:22] SIERRA SCOTT: And see, I love Wichita. I mean, no city is perfect, but there are so many wonderful things about Wichita. I call myself Wichita's biggest cheerleader just because the people here are over the top and wonderful and supportive. Do you find that? Yes, as well. Okay, good.

[44:41] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: I do have a lot of friends I do have. Yeah, this is my community. I have been in business for eight years. And if it wasn't for the community, the support, I don't know if I will be succeeding right now in my business.

[44:57] SIERRA SCOTT: Yeah, we are definitely blessed to have that.

[45:00] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: In your opinion, since I already talk a lot about, like, the issues that I care about, what are the most important political issues we should focus on as a nation?

[45:10] SIERRA SCOTT: There's so many. That's the sad thing. Right now my head's being jerked in 37 different directions because you look at health care, you look at childcare, you look at families, you look at immigration, I agree with you on that. I mean, there are so many safety. It's scary to see. And there's so many issues now. It seems like none of them are being addressed because there are so many now. Our attention is just split every which direction. And that concerns me. But I agree with you, and I'm glad you brought up safety because crime rates are skyrocketing all over.

[45:53] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: What do you think? I think when. Or maybe it's just my perception, but I feel like these conversations, like the political views and stuff, we're talking about two main parties in the country. We're talking about federal. We're talking about the federal government. What do you think about the local government? What do you think? What's. Because I feel like many times we tend to blame everything into what's happening in the nation. But what about local and hyper local government?

[46:22] SIERRA SCOTT: What's interesting is. And that was one of the things that I was taught in one of my civics classes, that really the politicians that have the most effect on your life are the local ones, because they're making decisions that affect you on a daily basis, and they're the most important to get elected. I think we have some really good people in positions, but I think the problem still exists that you've got county and city governments that aren't working well together. And I think the bad thing with that is when everybody wants to get the attention for making something happen rather than saying, let's join together and who cares who gets the credit? I think that can be an issue because I think we have some really good elected officials right now in positions, but they can't do it alone.

[47:16] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Right? Yeah.

[47:17] SIERRA SCOTT: How about you? What's your take on it?

[47:19] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: I just would like to see more diversity. I don't think there's representation of our communities. I have traveled through the state, and one of the places that calls my attention is, like, liberal Kansas, where, like, almost 70% of the population is Latino and they're just barely making some, like, having some leaders who represent that community, but not really. And here in Wichita, I mean, we don't have anybody. Like, Basically, we're almost 20% of the population in Wichita, and there's a lack of representation. And not only, like, in the government, but in many leadership positions, I feel like we're failing our young people into, like, creating more leadership spaces for them to grow and give them the opportunity to even see themselves as leaders. Because I don't think a lot of us, when we grow up, we didn't see someone like us, you know, doing that stuff and. Or so. Yeah, that will be my.

[48:32] SIERRA SCOTT: So what could be done in the community, do you think? Because obviously you need leaders to rise up and fill those spaces. Why are they not rising up and filling those spaces?

[48:45] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Because people still seeing us as construction and cleaning Crews, I remember when I started my newspaper, I was invited to a meeting with other media. They were going to open a business in Derby and they wanted us to come and check it out. And I thought I was invited as part of the media. Just they were going to send, you know, media releases or maybe even buy some advertisement. And then the guy at the end, I was the last one to leave and he said like, oh, I'm really going to need your newspaper for when we hired cooks and Cruz and the business. And I'm like, do you know our purchasing power in Kansas Is more than 5.6 billion? We can also be clients. You know how much a person is spend in quinceanera in a wedding?

[49:36] SIERRA SCOTT: Oh, yeah, those are expensive.

[49:37] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: We spend 20, $30,000. And this place was kind of like a venue for that. I'm like, and you only want me to get like, cooks and cleaning crews? Yeah.

[49:48] SIERRA SCOTT: Have you had to fight? Because again, I've never been the victim of racism. Well, maybe I have, but it's reversed and we won't even go there. But is racism still a major problem?

[50:02] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Oh, yeah.

[50:03] SIERRA SCOTT: See, that bothers me.

[50:03] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yeah.

[50:04] SIERRA SCOTT: Because I don't see it that way.

[50:05] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: I still. It's our skin color. It's our accent. I've been told that I haven't been given an opportunity because of my accent in places where I felt it was home. And then in the same space, there was somebody else with an accent from England, and she was very well received. And I'm like, is it my accent or is it my skin color? And when I worked, I was a family engagement educator in Derby public schools. And every time we had meetings, like district meetings, I will come and people will ask me if I was the cook, if I was the cleaning lady. And it was.

[50:52] SIERRA SCOTT: Yeah, you know, it's interesting to me because I'm on the other side of that. So you read in my bio, double wide trailer. I grew up in a neighborhood, Kansas City, Kansas side. The lower end schools had Hispanic friends, African American friends. And I get accused of this. And I hate it when people think that I'm lying when I say this. But I don't see color. I see hearts. And I played with the kids. I didn't care what color your skin was. Are you nice or are you not nice? That's how I divide people. But when I say that, sometimes people don't believe me because they assume, well, you're white. And what do you know? Well, I grew up that way and I don't see it that way.

[51:41] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: No, I completely understand that because I'm with you. Also, Mexico, the culture is a little bit different. Like nowadays, it has changed, but back in the day, there was no gender issues. African Americans in Mexico, they're not. I never seen it like the discrimination that they have. There's other problems in Mexico. In Mexico, there's more than discrimination is elitism. So social status matters. In Mexico, that's a different thing. But racially, you know, we have this game that is super famous de Loteria, and we have El Negrito, which is, you know, an African American dancing. And I remember when I tried to play it here, they're like, no, no, no, that's so racist. And I just never saw that because in Mexico, we grew up that way and, you know, we didn't have a slavery in Mexico and that stuff, so. So I completely agree with you on that. I. Yeah, yeah.

[52:38] SIERRA SCOTT: Either I liked you or you're blind.

[52:39] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yeah. Sometimes you're blind and you just don't see it. Yeah.

[52:43] SIERRA SCOTT: You really don't. But I have people accuse me that I do, and I go, I really don't.

[52:47] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Yeah.

[52:48] SIERRA SCOTT: So it's interesting. Preconceived notions. I do want to say thank you for coming here and having this conversation with me. It was. I wish I could have conversations with more people like this. Rational, logical listening. I'm surprised how quickly that we actually found common ground. That I did not expect. And it's interesting that we are so much more alike than we are different.

[53:18] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Right.

[53:19] SIERRA SCOTT: But I think the assumption would have been if we were in a room, a cocktail party. Let's just say my assumptions would have been different.

[53:27] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: You know, that reminds me of that meme or picture that goes around in social media. Or it's a video, I think, when two girls, white and a black girl, they have the same dress, and then the white girl comes and says, oh, look, we're twins so many times. Maybe we can be twins in the inside. I mean, like, you know what I mean? We very similar in the inside and very different in the outside.

[53:53] SIERRA SCOTT: I agree. Absolutely. Boy, this was one of the best things I've done in a very long time. And I'm glad that you were willing to come do this with me.

[54:00] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: I'm happy to know you in person. Like I said, I've seen you before in pictures and social media. I didn't know I was going to meet with you, but it has been lovely.

[54:10] SIERRA SCOTT: Yeah. And I hope to continue conversations with you. I'd like to keep a friendship.

[54:15] CLAUDIA YAUJAR-AMARO: Sure.