As a child of Mexican migrants, Romeo Guzman, assistant professor of U.S. and Public History, became interested in researching the history of Mexican migration and modern Mexico. In particular, he wanted to explore how Mexican migrant children during the 1920s and 1930s tried to carve a space for themselves in both the U.S. and Mexico.
"These children were U.S. citizens but their parents were Mexican citizens," he said. "I wanted to learn how these mixed-status families made claim to both U.S. and Mexican citizenship. This continues have profound implications."
In addition to teaching, Guzman is the director and founder of the new Valley Public History Initiative: Preserving Our Stories at Fresno State.
"This new initiative seeks to preserve, document and disseminate the Central Valley's history, to transform how the Valley's underrepresented communities enter the archive and experience history, and to rethink the role of historians in public life," he said.
He hopes to work collaboratively with students, faculty and community members to create new archives and to reimagine how we create history and how we disseminate it.
"Our goal is that historians and community members will build reciprocal relationships and see each other as partners," he said.
Guzman joined the Fresno State faculty in fall 2016 and enjoys providing students with the skills and equipment to conduct oral histories and write local histories.
"Some students have interviewed their migrant grandparents and people in their neighborhoods," he said. "When students write papers based on these oral histories, they come to fully appreciate that everyone has a story to tell and that all these stories are valuable. In many instances, these new oral histories become part of their family’s prized possessions."
Guzman believes his most valuable accomplishment so far has been working with undergraduates and other historians to create an archive and scholarship about the history of Popping and Hip Hop in Fresno.
Popping, a street dance style defined by the popping of a performer's muscles and joints, is said to trace its roots back to Fresno.
"We conducted oral histories with Fresno’s Hip Hop pioneers as well as younger generations," he said. "All of this material will be available online through the Fresno State library and thus available not only to academics, but to our students and Fresno and Central Valley community members."
Another accomplishment was hosting the official book launch for Tim Hernandez’s much anticipated new novel, “All They Will Call You,” on Jan 27.
Guzman received his Ph.D. in History at Columbia University, M.A. at CSU, Northridge and B.A. from UCLA, after transferring from Mount San Antonio Community College.
As the founder and co-director of the South El Monte Arts Posse (an arts collective), Guzman continues to connect with artists, writers and community members in El Monte and South El Monte to write local histories and execute art projects.
In his free time, he is a huge soccer fan.
"I played soccer at Mount San Antonio Community College and coached local teams and high school before going to graduate school," he said.
Guzman is married to Carribean Fragoza, an artist and writer, and is the proud father of Aura, a “feisty and fierce” 5-year-old.
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