The front of the altar of Pho Minh Buddhist Temple.
Author: Michael Fuhrman | Majors: History and Psychology | Semester: Spring 2022
To a Christian audience the space should feel somewhat familiar. Dark stained wooden arches lift the vaulted ceilings that are embellished with stained-glass windows along their base. Rows of antique pews guide you down to where you expect to find a pulpit but are instead met with a barrage of color and light. As your eyes attempt to focus there is a reckless amazement you feel as shimmers of gold and pastel pinks resist your desire to take in all that is presented. As you continue to find your way across the visual landscape you see the outline of a once familiar baptismal fountain. In place of how typical memory of a pale white wall overlooking the still pool of water, a statue of the Buddha with hands in the mudra position (typical to denote meditation) sits in a lavish field of flowers and reeds that grow out of the once familiar wooden frame.
My research, however, was not a focus on the architectural phenomenon that is Pho Minh Buddhist Temple, but the community that brought it to life. At the end of the Vietnam war, Fort Chaffee was used as a refugee resettlement camp that brought in thousands of Vietnamese, Laotian, and other individuals of different national identities to Fort Smith. Conducting an oral history project in partnership with the David & Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral & Visual History, I met with community members at the temple to video tape their stories in their own words. From daring tales outlining their flee from Vietnam to childhood fears turning to artistic endeavors, their stories define their experience.
My role as a Historian is to take their personal stories and lay them over other narratives to see how the stories of these refugees defines the future of American pluralism. As the United States continues to diversify and communities strive to preserve their cultural heritage, tactics and demand will change. The hopes of my research are to find a balance between the desires of communities and the importance of being a part of a larger whole.