Catalog ID:
ORH-006-0008
Creator:
Diaz, Danny
Archives Field 21:
AUDIO Click to Play
Scope & Content:
Date of interview: November 8, 2023
Location of interview: New Haven Board of Education - Danny's office
Duration: 1 hour, 7 minutes, 21 seconds
Daniel "Danny" Diaz was born in Aibonito, Puerto Rico, one of five siblings. His mother, a seamstress in factories, and his father, a construction worker, were both from Cayey. His mother's side of the family, jibaritos (peasant farmers), stayed in Cayey, while his father's side of the family came to Guilford in the 1940s to work on rose farms (Pinchbeck's and Funicelo's were the major ones hiring Puerto Rican migrant farm labor). As a result, Danny's father's family was one of the first to establish Puerto Rican communities in Guilford. Danny's father briefly lived in New York, served in the armed forces, briefly married and divorced, and had two children before meeting Danny's mother in Cayey.
The Diazes lived in Cayey until 1979, when they moved to New Haven for work, on account of poor economic conditions in Puerto Rico. They came to live in the Hill, living with Danny's aunt Norma at first, then briefly squatting in a vacant house before saving up enough to purchase a home in the Hill. His mother found work as a seamstress at a factory on Olive Street in Wooster Square, which is now luxury housing. His father found work primarily in Guilford, first at the Guilford Foundry, then at Canyon Marine.
Danny was in 9th grade when the family moved to New Haven, and went through bilingual education at the former Lee High School (now the Hill Regional Career High School). The ESL program when he was a student first taught all subjects in Spanish, then transitioning into English. Danny recalled accelerating through the program relatively quickly, taking math in Spanish upon arriving as a freshman, but being able to complete subjects like English and history in English by the time he was a senior. Danny also recalled the program being comprised primarily of Puerto Ricans, with the occasional Mexican family arriving to New Haven in the 1980s.
Danny went to college with the support of his guidance counselor, Sharon Bradford. He graduated from Southern Connecticut State College with a bachelor's degree in economics, then Sacred Heart University for his masters. He spent 17 years working for the Southern Connecticut Gas Company, before transitioning to a job with the Regional Water Authority for five years, before finally landing his current position as a consultant with the New Haven Board of Education, which he started in 2005.
Danny speaks fondly of two of his passions: recruiting teachers from Puerto Rico and his nonprofit work. His interest in recruiting teachers began when he first arrived in New Haven in 1979, when he noticed his teachers were also recent Puerto Rican migrants like himself. When he got a position as a consultant with New Haven Public Schools, he decided to restore these efforts and hire more bilingual teachers directly from the island. He cites the work of Dr. Gladys Labas, Director of Equity and Language at the State Education Resource Center (SERC); and current New Haven Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Madeline Negrón; in ensuring that Puerto Rican teachers could migrate and receive their Connecticut State Teaching License upon arrival, starting around 2019/2020. Danny's also recruited for other Connecticut cities, such as Hartford, as well as other states, like Georgia.
Danny also speaks fondly of the nonprofit organization he started with his husband, David: ARTE, Inc. As part of the Arts Council in New Haven, Danny noticed a lack of interest in considering Latiné voices. Deciding to part ways with the council, he decided to utilize what he learned in the council "to support my community" and bring arts programming and educational support to New Haven's Latiné communities. In the 20 years since the founding of ARTE, Inc., the organization has expanded, both maintaining its devotion to supporting Latinés in New Haven (such as scholarships for Latiné students) while also providing programming to multiple student communities in New Haven (Saturday arts academies, music lessons, etc.). Danny expressed particular gratitude for his husband David's support, in utilizing his privilege as a white man to build the organization and become "the heart of ARTE."
Danny concluded his oral history in expressing a desire to see more Puerto Ricans ascend to positions of power, particularly politically, and to emphasize that one can reflect on hardships without "carry[ing] that chain" of burden.
Location of interview: New Haven Board of Education - Danny's office
Duration: 1 hour, 7 minutes, 21 seconds
Daniel "Danny" Diaz was born in Aibonito, Puerto Rico, one of five siblings. His mother, a seamstress in factories, and his father, a construction worker, were both from Cayey. His mother's side of the family, jibaritos (peasant farmers), stayed in Cayey, while his father's side of the family came to Guilford in the 1940s to work on rose farms (Pinchbeck's and Funicelo's were the major ones hiring Puerto Rican migrant farm labor). As a result, Danny's father's family was one of the first to establish Puerto Rican communities in Guilford. Danny's father briefly lived in New York, served in the armed forces, briefly married and divorced, and had two children before meeting Danny's mother in Cayey.
The Diazes lived in Cayey until 1979, when they moved to New Haven for work, on account of poor economic conditions in Puerto Rico. They came to live in the Hill, living with Danny's aunt Norma at first, then briefly squatting in a vacant house before saving up enough to purchase a home in the Hill. His mother found work as a seamstress at a factory on Olive Street in Wooster Square, which is now luxury housing. His father found work primarily in Guilford, first at the Guilford Foundry, then at Canyon Marine.
Danny was in 9th grade when the family moved to New Haven, and went through bilingual education at the former Lee High School (now the Hill Regional Career High School). The ESL program when he was a student first taught all subjects in Spanish, then transitioning into English. Danny recalled accelerating through the program relatively quickly, taking math in Spanish upon arriving as a freshman, but being able to complete subjects like English and history in English by the time he was a senior. Danny also recalled the program being comprised primarily of Puerto Ricans, with the occasional Mexican family arriving to New Haven in the 1980s.
Danny went to college with the support of his guidance counselor, Sharon Bradford. He graduated from Southern Connecticut State College with a bachelor's degree in economics, then Sacred Heart University for his masters. He spent 17 years working for the Southern Connecticut Gas Company, before transitioning to a job with the Regional Water Authority for five years, before finally landing his current position as a consultant with the New Haven Board of Education, which he started in 2005.
Danny speaks fondly of two of his passions: recruiting teachers from Puerto Rico and his nonprofit work. His interest in recruiting teachers began when he first arrived in New Haven in 1979, when he noticed his teachers were also recent Puerto Rican migrants like himself. When he got a position as a consultant with New Haven Public Schools, he decided to restore these efforts and hire more bilingual teachers directly from the island. He cites the work of Dr. Gladys Labas, Director of Equity and Language at the State Education Resource Center (SERC); and current New Haven Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Madeline Negrón; in ensuring that Puerto Rican teachers could migrate and receive their Connecticut State Teaching License upon arrival, starting around 2019/2020. Danny's also recruited for other Connecticut cities, such as Hartford, as well as other states, like Georgia.
Danny also speaks fondly of the nonprofit organization he started with his husband, David: ARTE, Inc. As part of the Arts Council in New Haven, Danny noticed a lack of interest in considering Latiné voices. Deciding to part ways with the council, he decided to utilize what he learned in the council "to support my community" and bring arts programming and educational support to New Haven's Latiné communities. In the 20 years since the founding of ARTE, Inc., the organization has expanded, both maintaining its devotion to supporting Latinés in New Haven (such as scholarships for Latiné students) while also providing programming to multiple student communities in New Haven (Saturday arts academies, music lessons, etc.). Danny expressed particular gratitude for his husband David's support, in utilizing his privilege as a white man to build the organization and become "the heart of ARTE."
Danny concluded his oral history in expressing a desire to see more Puerto Ricans ascend to positions of power, particularly politically, and to emphasize that one can reflect on hardships without "carry[ing] that chain" of burden.
Interviewer:
Interviewed by Amanda Rivera
Dates of Creation:
2023-11-08
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