Dr. Rebecca Dominguez-Karimi


Oral Historian, Founder of Voces de Hispanos & Treasures From Aztlan, Podcaster, Speaker & Writer

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“When I was born they called me Latin, when I entered school they called me Mexican, when I graduated they called me Chicana and now they call me Hispanic. BUT THEY NEVER CALLED ME AMERICAN.”

–Rebecca Dominguez-Karimi

Dr. Karimi is back from her sabbatical and is resuming the Voces de Hispanos Project

Dr. Rebecca Dominguez-Karimi is an oral historian and founder of Voces de Hispanos and Treasures From Aztlan oral history collections, writer, and speaker on the Florida Humanities Council, speaking on gender and minority issues.

She currently produces podcasts highlighting the voices in her Treasures from Aztlan oral history collection. An oral historian since 2005, her most recent oral history project, Voices de Hispanos, documents the history of Latinos in Jacksonville, FL from 1950-present day and is the first of its kind for the city.

Her Treasures From Aztlan collection contains Mexican American narrators that lived during the Jim Crow era. Rebecca holds a PhD in Comparative Studies and an MA in Liberal Studies from Florida Atlantic University. She received a BA in English/Creative Writing from the University of California, Irvine.

Her primary research focuses on structural violence in marginalized communities, feminist studies, and Mexican American history. She taught at Nova Southeastern University and Broward College before moving to North Florida.

Greetings!

I’m now collaborating with First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (FCHCC) and will be reaching out to the 5 county area of Jacksonville. I’m excited and looking forward to making this important historical project a success for our Hispanic community. History matters!

As you may remember, in 2021 I collected 40 oral histories for the Jacksonville Historical Society’s Hispanic Heritage Month presentation. I documented the historical significance, as well as cultural impact that the Hispanic community played in Duval County, from the creation of the Hispanic American Businessman’s Association to the Cuban American Club to the creation of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce—all these entities got their start in Jacksonville.

 I’ve researched newspapers, phone and city directories, and spoken to other historians about Hispanics in JAX and unfortunately, there’s a large gap in our history since the 1920s. My goal is to fill in this 100 year gap, if at least partially, by gathering stories from residents.

In fact, I will now be documenting the history of Hispanics in the 5 county area. I originally began in Duval County, but thanks to FCHCC, I’ve been able to increase the scope of the oral history study. This landmark oral history project will be the first of its kind due to its scope, historical, cultural and economic significance. No one has undertaken this task before and I’m grateful to partner with FCHCC and the Jacksonville Historical society and look forward to working with other historical societies, libraries and museums to bring this project to fruition. 

Documenting the history of Hispanics in NE Florida should be important to us all, for it will serve as a guidepost to our children, and future generations. We must chronicle our achievements and the impact our Hispanic culture and peoples played in the growth of NE Florida. 

Dr. Rebecca Dominguez-Karimi

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