Cecilia Burrell Stone Oral History Interview, May 15, 2021

Partial Transcript: Name and Date?

Segment Synopsis: Taylor introduces Cecilia Burrell Stone as his grandmother and interviewee

Partial Transcript: Where did you grow up?

Segment Synopsis: Cecilia was born in Tucson, Arizona. Her dad worked as an aircraft mechanic and the family moved to National City when her Dad got a job in San Diego, California. In National City, she grew up in military housing from 5 years old to 16. She didn’t know English until age of 6. At 16, the family moved to Palmdale. Cecilia did not attend kindergarten or preschool, so she did not learn English until first grade. Her neighborhood had some Samoan neighbors, one other Mexican family, but not many Spanish speakers.

Keywords: Arizona; ESL; English Second Language; Mexican; Military Base; National City; Native Spanish Speaker; Palmdale; San Diego; Spanish; Tucson

Partial Transcript: What was your experience growing up with Spanish and English?

Segment Synopsis: As the oldest child, Cecilia was the first child to learn English at school and had the hardest time out of all her siblings. Her siblings learned English from the neighborhood kids before they were school age. Spanish was the primary language spoken at home, until all the kids were in school and English became the most commonly spoken language at home. Her parents spoke English and Spanish, but wanted the kids to assimilate successfully and pushed for English fluency.

Keywords: Assimilation; ESL; English; First Generation; Spanish

Partial Transcript: Did teachers treat you differently for not speaking English?

Segment Synopsis: Teachers were very helpful and supported her success. Cecilia related to her 5th grade teacher; she was Italian and had similar features to her. Cecilia was sometimes mistaken for Italian in elementary school. Cecilia learned her Spanish again in High School and college, so her Spanish is academic and not regional from her parents' hometown.

Keywords: Academic Spanish; Colloqualism; ESL; Italian

Partial Transcript: How did High School effect how you were viewed, and how you viewed the world?

Segment Synopsis: Cecilia was placed in remedial courses due to her Spanish last name, but was moved out of them when a teacher believed she should not be there. Her high school experience was very racially segregated, typically by language spoken by the students. She decided to attend college without much support from her school counselors or her parents, and her college Vice President made discouraging comments. Her future husband helped provide the necessary support in finding out how to graduate from college, since her school administration was not helpful.

Keywords: Discrimination; ESL; First Generation College; Language Barriers; Racism

Partial Transcript: What were some challenges in finishing college?

Segment Synopsis: Cecilia's husband helped her navigate the college process, he is White and was more familiar with the system than her parents were. She also notes that La Raza and the Chicano movements were starting at the time, which provided her with some support. Cecilia was self-motivated to finish college, seeing her peers from elementary school doing the same. She had been interested in becoming a librarian but the language requirement that they had would not recognize her Spanish credits and preferred other languages such as German. She was not able to become a librarian, but graduated from college in 1972.

Keywords: Chicano; German; La Raza; Librarianship; MLIS; Mexican-American

Partial Transcript: What was it like being in an interracial relationship in the 1960s?

Segment Synopsis: When the US Supreme Court passed the interracial marriage rights act, Cecilia had been with her White partner for 3 years. They married in 1968 after three years of dating, one year after the federal ruling. Cecilia notes that her mother-in-law told her once that their marriage would not be acceptable in the Midwest. She faced discrimination when entering a diner in the South with her husband, noting that they were ignored and not waited on.

Keywords: Discrimination; Interracial Marriage; Interracial Relationship; Loving; Loving vs Virginia; Racism; Supreme Court Ruling

Partial Transcript: How did Ready Print start?

Segment Synopsis: Cecilia and her husband moved to Pittsburg, Ca and began an HOA. This brought the community together and she realized that they were traveling 20 miles to the city of Concord to print, as there was no local printing office. Her husband and a neighbor opened up Ready Print and she took over when the neighbor quit.

Keywords: California; Concord; HOA; Pittsburg; Ready Print; Small business; copy; print services

Partial Transcript: How did you manage a small business and a family?

Segment Synopsis: Cecilia would bring her kids to work in order to find balance. The kids would come to the backroom where she worked and she would also bring them along on errands. Her aunt-in-law would watch the kids as well, but she was mostly watching the kids and working on HR and billing from the back room.

Keywords: Ready Print; Sales; Small business; Working mom; multitasking

Partial Transcript: How did being a small business owner influence your politics?

Segment Synopsis: The business operated with her husband as the name and face of it, so it was considered a male-run business. Cecilia was comfortable working behind the scenes. There was an opportunity to get the business recognized as a minority and woman-owned business, but the paperwork was burdensome.

Keywords: Gender; Minority; Women Owned

Partial Transcript: Was there a difference in the diversity of the different places you have lived?

Segment Synopsis: Most locations were fairly diverse, though Palmdale was predominantly White. Pittsburg was the most diverse location that Cecilia lived in, which she credits as being a product of being close to San Francisco and Sacramento.

Keywords: Diversity; Palmdale; Pittsburg; Sacramento; San Francisco

Partial Transcript: What gave you confidence as a businesswoman?

Segment Synopsis: Cecilia has always felt confident and competent in her people skills. She credits her mastery of the English language and her communication style with winning over people. She builds relationships and is careful not to be too intimidating.

Keywords: Businesswoman; Communication; Confidence; Language; woman owned

Partial Transcript: How has God influenced you?

Segment Synopsis: God serves as Cecilia's foundation in life. She has become involved with a recovered ministry that has taught her skills such as: forgiveness, how to grieve, letting go, and processing Latino-specific traumas.

Keywords: God; Latino; Ministry; Patriarchy; Religion

Partial Transcript: What is your experience in Edgewater Covenant?

Segment Synopsis: Cecilia has taken on a leadership role in the Edgewater Covenant and helped grow a small church into a mega church.

Keywords: Church; Edgewater Covenant; Ministry

Partial Transcript: What does retirement look like for you?

Segment Synopsis: Cecilia retired 5 years ago after selling Ready Print. She has since spent her time traveling, running a Grief Share program after losing her mom, has become a member of the Kiwanis Club, and raised money through local Jeopardy games for high school and continuation school students.

Keywords: Charity; Fundraising; Jeopardy; Kiwanis; Loss; Mount Rushmore; Retirement; SDS Academy; Santa Fe; Senior Living; Travel

Partial Transcript: Do you have anything else to add?

Segment Synopsis: Cecilia encourages Latinx community members to keep an open mind, stay politically active, and to fight against injustice.

Keywords: Latinx; Racial Injustice