Vanessa Flores-Maldonado interview

Interview with Vanessa Flores-Maldonado by Jesus DeJesus. Vanessa is a social justice activist and co-director of PrYSM in Providence; R.I. She identifies as a queer Latina; first generation immigrant; organizer and survivor. Topics in order of discussion include:growing up in Los Angeles with undocumented immigrant family members and having minimal experiences with white people; going to Brown University and the challenges of adapting to a predominantly white; privileged space; early activist work in Los Angeles with youth; activism work in Providence centered on youth; police violence and impact on queer people of color; gun violence; challenges for queer people of color within the LGBTQ community and the predominance of white; wealthy gay men in community organizing roles; social justice issues related to marginalized people within the LGBTQ community including people of color; trans people; disabled people; sex workers and immigrants. This interview was created as part of the Queer Stories Project - an oral history project developed by Dr. Virginia Thomas to train LGBTQIA young adults to conduct oral history interviews with LGBTQIA adults in Rhode Island. Queer Stories Project was funded by Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.