Interview with Nkongolo Kalala, July 21, 2014
Project: African Immigrants in the Bluegrass Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Nkongolo Kalala (Democratic Republic of the Congo), one of the first Congolese students at University of Kentucky when he arrived in 1989, describes his primary, secondary, and undergraduate schooling in Congo, followed by his masters at the University of Georgia and PhD at University of Kentucky. All his university degrees are in agricultural economics. He has taught economics at Bluegrass Community and Technical College since 1998 and is an Associate Professor there. Besides English, he speaks French, Lingala and Tshiluba; he tells a classic not understanding English story at McDonalds when he first arrived in New York City. He describes participating in a 1995 trip to Gabon, Senegal, and Morocco organized by Leon Sullivan to bring Africans and African-Americans together, as well as a conference about the future of Congo after Mobutu at UK in 1997, and the visit of former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda to the University of Kentucky in 2000, both of which he helped organize.Interview Accession
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Interview Keyword
African Cape Verde Consulting Economics English language Gabon Leon Sullivan McDonald's restaurant Misunderstandings Morocco President Kenneth Kaunda President Mobutu Primary education School Secondary education Senegal South Africa Students Travel Undergraduate education University of Georgia University of Kentucky West Africa Families. Agricultural education Higher education Discrimination. Identity.Interview Rights
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.Interview Usage
Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.Restriction
Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.
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Kalala, Nkongolo Interview by Angene Wilson. 21 Jul. 2014. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Kalala, N. (2014, July 21). Interview by A. Wilson. African Immigrants in the Bluegrass Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Kalala, Nkongolo, interview by Angene Wilson. July 21, 2014, African Immigrants in the Bluegrass Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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