Juanita Sulay Wilson interviewed by Meleia Simon-Reynolds Part 2 of 2

In this interview, originally recorded in person, Juanita Sulay Wilson speaks with Meleia Simon-Reynolds, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. This interview is focused on Juanita’s mother, Virginia Alice Viner, and her membership and role in the Watsonville Filipino Women’s Club, as well as Juanita’s own foundational role in the Watsonville High School Filipino Youth Club. Throughout the interview, Juanita describes the events and services the Filipino Women’s Club provided to the community in Watsonville. She explains the racial dynamics within the club and community, including how white women like her mother were accepted into the organization. Juanita recalls how her mother saw herself within the community and discusses changing community dynamics when Filipino migrants arrived in Watsonville, especially after 1965. She also details the development of her own identity as a mixed-race person, explaining the ways members of the Filipino Women’s club and her mother –thought about race. Then, Juanita explains the creation and activities of the Filipino Youth Club. She explains the connections between the founding of the Youth Club and other Filipino community organizations in Watsonville. Juanita emphasizes that she and other members of the Youth Club felt it was important to claim and celebrate their Filipino identities.

Juanita Sulay Wilson

Meleia Simon-Reynolds

January 29, 2023

Watsonville is in the Heart (WIITH) is a community-driven public history initiative to preserve and uplift stories of Filipino migration and labor in the city of Watsonville and greater Pajaro Valley. All oral history interviews are donated to WIITH by the narrators. Copyright is held by WIITH. Oral history interview recordings and transcripts are available for unrestricted use and reproduction by educators and researchers. Please note that the recordings on this website are provided via Soundcloud. For access to oral history audio files, please contact the project director at wiith@ucsc.edu. If you are an oral history narrator and would like to remove your interview from the archive website, please contact the project director.

English

Oral History

Meleia Simon-Reynolds

Juanita Sulay Wilson

.wav

1:13:06