Polo Catalani Oral History Interview

This interview begins by chronicling Ronault Catalani's family background and structure and his early migrations and immigrations. Following this, he explains his time at the University of Oregon and his mentors there. After meeting his wife and having a baby girl, Catalani discusses his entrance into social work. He discusses the model he developed during his time with the Oregon Department of Human Resources that worked at solving social and familial problems within their own support structures, rather than involving expensive state systems. He explains his transition out of that work, his decision to receive his doctorate and post doctorate, and the traditional support system to which he adheres. Following this, he spends time discussing how his practice of community lawyering began, the programs he created, his move to Portland, and the formation of IRCO. He outlines his current work at IRCO and the Asian Family Center along with the racism and hardships felt by immigrants and refugees. Catalani mentions the pride he feels for the good work that the Davis Douglass school district is doing towards its international population. Briefly, he discusses the increasing demographics of immigrants and the heavier need of government cooperation. The interview ends with Catalani's thoughts on black and white tensions within America and the acknowledgement that his story is the story of thousands of immigrants.

Ronault "Polo" Catalani was born in 1953 in the Netherlands. He identifies with both Catalan and Manado ethnicities and heritage. Catalani spent his early childhood living in Indonesia until he and his family moved to the Netherlands due to the civil strife. Catalani lived in the Netherlands for six years where he began school. In 1966, his family moved to Salem, Oregon, as church-sponsored refugees. In 1972, Catalani was drafted by the United States army, so he sought asylum with his grandfather in the Netherlands in order to not be sent back to the turmoil in Asia from which he escaped. Once the draft had ended, Catalani returned to Salem, Oregon. He then began attending the University of Oregon on an athletic scholarship and received his bachelor's degree in political science, psychology, and philosophy. During this time he met his wife, and he also travelled to the Netherlands, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia on fellowships and grants for one of his professors—Professor Davies. Under Professor Davies, Catalani continued on to graduate school in human migrations. However, because he and his wife had a baby, he decided to not finish school at this time and began work for the Oregon Department of Human Resources in Coos Bay. Returning to Salem, he received his doctorate in law followed by his post-doc in community lawyering at Howard University in D.C. Using this education, Catalani started organizing minority communities in Salem, and then moved this practice to Portland. He partnered with mutual assistance associations and the government in order to establish IRCO in 1986. Currently he serves as a board member for both the Asian Family Center (AFC) and IRCO. His current duties include civic engagement, fundraising, finding future partners, and facilitating relationships between the government and IRCO.