In this post, Folklife Specialist Meg Nicholas interviews Alex Lumelsky, COO and Creative Director for the Chaldean News, about the 2024 Community Collections Grant (CCG) Project, Chaldeans: Portrait of an Evolving Community. The American Folklife Center CCG program is part of the Library’s Of the People: Widening the Path initiative, which seeks to create new opportunities to engage with the Library of Congress and enrich the Library’s collections, allowing the national library to share a more inclusive American story. This post is part of the Of the People blog series featuring the awardees of the American Folklife Center’s Community Collections Grant program.
In the diverse neighborhoods of southeast Michigan, a vibrant cultural tapestry unfolds—one woven with the strong traditions and hopeful spirit of the Chaldean community. Originating from ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), Chaldeans have journeyed far, bringing with them a legacy that shapes their lives in America.
Following the recent upheavals in Iraq, including the 2003 U.S. invasion and the rise of ISIS, thousands of Chaldeans—Iraqi Christians—sought refuge in the United States. Metro Detroit, which thousands of Chaldeans have already called home for decades, became a focal point of their resettlement, where they’ve not only found safety but have also profoundly influenced the region’s cultural and economic landscape.
Through the collaborative efforts of the Chaldean Community Foundation and Chaldean News, this initiative aims to capture the essence of Chaldean life in America. Oral histories, video footage, photographs, and textual archives will vividly portray an evolution of Chaldean traditions—from ancient practices to their integration into contemporary American life. Beyond mere preservation, this project seeks to foster deeper understanding and appreciation of Chaldean culture among diverse audiences.
–Alex Lumelsky
How did the Chaldeans: Portrait of an Evolving Community project come about?
The Chaldean Community Foundation (CCF) was established to address critical immigration needs while remaining deeply rooted in Chaldean cultural heritage. Initially focusing on the social, health, and community disparities faced by newcomers to America, the CCF primarily serves ethnic and non-English-speaking immigrant groups, as well as the local economically disadvantaged.
Committed to empowering vulnerable populations by enhancing language skills, cultural competence, and workplace readiness, the CCF fosters self-sufficiency, acculturation, inclusion, and lifelong success. Coming into its own in 2011 as a comprehensive human and social service agency, the Foundation initially anticipated serving 400 individuals but ultimately assisted 4,000 in its inaugural year.
By 2015, CCF expanded its offices to better meet community needs, and further expansion occurred in 2020. Services provided by CCF include acculturation classes, ESL instruction, behavioral health programs, assistance accessing healthcare, job placement services, career development, and financial services such as auto loans, among others. In 2019, the CCF acquired the CN, which greatly expanded its ability to capture the Chaldean story.
This grant is very much in line with the mission of the CN, i.e., painting a portrait of the Chaldean American community, and gives us more resources to pursue initiatives that were formerly out of reach due to a lack of funding. It is timely as well, because there is much more interest from younger people in the community now; their desire to know their roots is growing. There is also a push from the older community to have their stories recorded and shared.
How do you envision the project unfolding? What is your overall approach?
To capture the flavor of this community, we intend to collect in-person interviews on video, recording subjects in their places of business or, in the case of “community conversations” or life celebrations, on location. Our intention is to document a range of the varied voices, to create a snapshot in time of this unique community.
In addition to videos, we will produce written stories, photos and audio clips. This snapshot will include family businesses that have been around for generations as well as new businesses that fill some unique niche. We will document: Chaldean life cycle events, such as a first communion and a wedding; explore the first-ever Chaldean Convention and a local Arab & Chaldean Festival, which is in its 51st year; engage in a “community conversation” with retirees who gather daily to play cards; and record the designation of a Detroit area known as “Chaldean Town” with a historical marker.
Who is involved in the project?
The project is being led by Alex Lumelsky, COO and Creative Director for the Chaldean News. Sarah Kittle, Editor-in-Chief, is serving as Lead Story Editor. Cal Abbo, Reporter, will conduct most of the interviews and will assist with collection of metadata and authorization documents. Jose Marrero is a staff member at CCF and is acting as Videographer. The CCF staff numbers over 70, all with different areas of expertise, which we will call upon for assistance throughout the grant period.
As the halfway point of the grant period approaches, are there any project activities, such as documented community events, that you would like to share?
So far, we have documented a Chaldean wedding, the Chaldean Catholic Church’s First Communion program, and the inaugural Chaldean Convention, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We also plan to also document the 51st Arab & Chaldean Festival as well as other cultural events. The CCF is also in the midst of a big construction project, creating a Chaldean Cultural Center that will house the world’s only Chaldean Museum and the Bishop Ibrahim Library, a collection which will contain many valuable works, including religious manuscripts that were rescued from ISIS in Iraq.
What are the anticipated outcomes of the project?
The CCF recently completed a project called, the Chaldean Story, which was designed to tell the history of Chaldean migration to Michigan. “Chaldeans: Portrait of an Evolving Community” seeks to capture a current snapshot of the community. By documenting the present and preserving stories of the past, our hope is to paint a more accurate and complete portrait of the Chaldean American community, for the broader public as well as the community itself. We believe it is important that future generations of Chaldean Americans know where they came from, the struggles their ancestors went through to get here, and the many contributions this community has made to their adopted homeland.
What is the importance of having your project documentation preserved as a collection in the American Folklife Center archives at the Library of Congress (and eventually presented online, on the Library’s website)?
Chaldeans are a relatively small but distinct group of Christians who come from northern Iraq, with roots that date back to ancient Mesopotamia. Although Chaldean customs and traditions are quite different from those of Iraq’s Arab majority, because both groups originate from Iraq, Chaldean culture is often overlooked and misunderstood.
Michigan is home to the largest concentration of Chaldeans in the United States and the community has had an outsized impact on the region. With the inclusion of this collection in the American Folklife Center, Chaldean culture will be documented, preserved and shared with the public. The Chaldean American story is among many great immigrant stories, and deserves to be understood and preserved. This collection will enable it to have its own place in history.
Thank you, Alex! Best of luck to you and your team as the project continues to progress.
Explore the history of Michigan’s Chaldean community here. To learn about programs that support new Americans, visit chaldeanfoundation.org.