This interview is with Cristina Gonzalez, a member of Allies to End Detention. She was born in Utah and eventually moved to San Diego. She is now studying Religious Studies at Grossmont Community College, and before that worked in healthcare for over a decade. This interview discusses her experience being raised Mormon, her experience as a Mormon wife, as a single mother, and as an activist. It further discusses the foundation of Allies to End Detention, and their current adaptions to their process due to COVID-19. She finally explains how Allies to End Detention saved her, and how being an activist is about loving and caring about each other.
I was put in contact with Cristina through my volunteer work with Allies to End Detention, as part of my Race and Oral History class at UC San Diego. The interview was conducted through Zoom. Cristina was at her home in the U.S, and I was at my home in Switzerland.
My name is Bruna Perestrelo Faria, and I am a first-generation college student. I was on exchange at UC San Diego, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I returned to Switzerland and finished my U.S experience remotely. I am passionate about human rights and it was my first Oral History experience. My major is Political Science and I am taking the Race and Oral History course as one of my last courses before graduating. I am grateful to have exchanged with Cristina, and I am grateful for everything I learned from this interview.
