Interview with Mildred Rodriguez
Date7 March 2025
Mediumborn digital audio file
DimensionsDuration: 55 Minutes, 14 Seconds
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineCommunity History Project Collection
DescriptionAudio file of interview with Mildred Rodriguez. She was interviewed by Silas Segar on 7 March 2025 in East Hartford, CT .
Mildred Rodriguez was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's Community History Project discussing moments of change in her life.
Mildred was interviewed on March 7, 2025 in East Hartford, Connecticut. Change, for her, is something that happens when a person realizes that they want something different to better themselves. The change happened for Mildred during Covid when she had felt extremely lost in life and was seeking guidance from more spiritual sources. She had explored different religions prior, initially being raised Catholic, but had not been able to find something that felt right for her. That was until she had read the Quran which stood out to her due to its long, unchanged wording from 1400 years ago.
She first began to interact with Islam through the patients she cared for as a nurse. One patient had given her a copy of the Quran to allow her the opportunity to read it and the Muslims she spoke with were patient with answering her questions until she was able to read it and understand it for herself. There were many aspects to the Quran that had been difficult to comprehend such as the polygamous marriage and cutting off a hand for stealing. Both of these were much more reliant on the previous social expectations of the time and had elements where community comes together to solve a problem where it is rarely expected today.
One of the more difficult parts of her conversion was the change in attire but she found that wearing the hijab and dressing according to the customs of Islam provided her with a sense of freedom and agency she hadn’t known before. Her first experience with Islamic prayer was in the house of a patient. She had learned the prayer in both English and Arabic and now is trying to learn how to read Arabic. Mildred explains that “the Quran in Arabic is like a song” and how powerful it felt for her to listen to.
Mildred learned how God had been helping guide her towards different life choices through various trials including her conversion. This was not without other difficulties however, as she found that a number of people in her life had not stuck with her after it. Those who stayed and accommodated her lifestyle proved to have a meaningful relationship with her that she deeply valued. Her children were supportive of her too, seeing how she had become happier and less burdened with anxiety, and they had read the Quran for her too to learn about it as well even when they chose not to follow any religion afterward.
Mildred discussed her experiences with Ramadan. She explains it as a time not only for fasting, but for self control where life habits are changed to strive for a more peaceful life. After Ramadan, she wishes to continue to keep her swearing to a minimum as well as pray five times a day as she has been able to do so far. She wishes for people to be more open-minded and not to treat people poorly for their religion because she is willing to share her experience to any who ask.
Mildred Rodriguez was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's Community History Project discussing moments of change in her life.
Mildred was interviewed on March 7, 2025 in East Hartford, Connecticut. Change, for her, is something that happens when a person realizes that they want something different to better themselves. The change happened for Mildred during Covid when she had felt extremely lost in life and was seeking guidance from more spiritual sources. She had explored different religions prior, initially being raised Catholic, but had not been able to find something that felt right for her. That was until she had read the Quran which stood out to her due to its long, unchanged wording from 1400 years ago.
She first began to interact with Islam through the patients she cared for as a nurse. One patient had given her a copy of the Quran to allow her the opportunity to read it and the Muslims she spoke with were patient with answering her questions until she was able to read it and understand it for herself. There were many aspects to the Quran that had been difficult to comprehend such as the polygamous marriage and cutting off a hand for stealing. Both of these were much more reliant on the previous social expectations of the time and had elements where community comes together to solve a problem where it is rarely expected today.
One of the more difficult parts of her conversion was the change in attire but she found that wearing the hijab and dressing according to the customs of Islam provided her with a sense of freedom and agency she hadn’t known before. Her first experience with Islamic prayer was in the house of a patient. She had learned the prayer in both English and Arabic and now is trying to learn how to read Arabic. Mildred explains that “the Quran in Arabic is like a song” and how powerful it felt for her to listen to.
Mildred learned how God had been helping guide her towards different life choices through various trials including her conversion. This was not without other difficulties however, as she found that a number of people in her life had not stuck with her after it. Those who stayed and accommodated her lifestyle proved to have a meaningful relationship with her that she deeply valued. Her children were supportive of her too, seeing how she had become happier and less burdened with anxiety, and they had read the Quran for her too to learn about it as well even when they chose not to follow any religion afterward.
Mildred discussed her experiences with Ramadan. She explains it as a time not only for fasting, but for self control where life habits are changed to strive for a more peaceful life. After Ramadan, she wishes to continue to keep her swearing to a minimum as well as pray five times a day as she has been able to do so far. She wishes for people to be more open-minded and not to treat people poorly for their religion because she is willing to share her experience to any who ask.
Object number2024.79.17
NotesSubject Note: The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History’s Community History Project (CHP) is a public-facing initiative, focused on contemporary collecting, gathering items of the recent past as well as from events happening today. This program developed community historians to identify, document, and preserve their experiences as residents of Connecticut, and to share these experiences during a series of community presentations. The project focused on the theme "Redefining Moments of Change." Conneticans share stories of people or events who have changed their lives or how they have sparked change in the lives of others.Cataloging Note: Digitization and access to this collection is supported by a Congressionally Directed grant through the U.S. Department of Education.
Subject Terms
- East Hartford
- People of color
- Oral history
- Interviews
- Oral narratives
- Women
- Puerto Ricans
- Religion
- Hijab (Islamic clothing)
- Islam
- Muslims
- Polygamy
- Qurʼan
- Ramadan
- Eid al-Fitr
- Family
- COVID-19 Pandemic (2020)
- COVID-19 (Disease)
- Catholicism
- Christianity
- Interviews and Oral Histories
- Born Digital Audio
- Community History Project U.S. Department of Education grant
- Redefining Moments of Change Collection
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