Next Door Neighbors

The first program in the Next Door Neighbors series, Little Kurdistan, USA looks at Nashville’s Kurdish population, which is the largest in North America. Kurdish refugees first arrived in Nashville in 1976 and have since established a vibrant community here. This documentary examines how our Kurdish neighbors have adapted to life in Nashville and provides insight into their struggles.

Over 5,000 Somali refugees now call Nashville their home. These new Nashvillians left a war-torn country and many still have family trying to survive in Somalia and in refugee camps across Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Yemen, and other countries. For most, life in Nashville is about work, sending money back home and trying to balance Somali traditions and cultures while adjusting to life in the U.S.

The third in Nashville Public Television's Next Door Neighbors documentary series, Hablamos Espanol profiles Nashville's Hispanic community.

The Bhutanese are Nashville’s newest refugee community. In January 2007, the US Department of State announced it would host the resettlement of 60,000 Bhutanese over the next several years to cities across the US.

Sudanese is the fifth installment in Nashville Public Television's Next Door Neighbors series. Refugee resettlement to the United States is often the last option displaced people have for a permanent home.

Egyptians is the sixth installment in Nashville Public Television’s award winning Next Door Neighbors series. For newly arrived Egyptians facing the struggle of adjustment, the question remains, is the sacrifice – trading one life for another - worth it.

We are a nation of immigrants. For over 400 years America has been a beacon for individuals around the globe searching for a better life. As Nashvilians know, the strong economy and temperate climate we enjoy have made our city an ideal place to call home and a magnet for those seeking a fresh start.

Refugee resettlement to the United States is often the last option displaced people have for a permanent home. The opportunity is available to less than one percent of the world’s refugees. Once in the U.S., in cities like Nashville, refugees are expected to build new lives. Host Danielle Colburn Allen explores why these neighbors left their native countries and set out to make a new beginning.

"BECOMING AMERICAN” shares the stories of four individuals who faced resettlement in the U.S. to escape the atrocities of war and the burden of poverty: Sisavanh Pouthavong Houghton, an MTSU Professor who barely escaped war-ravaged Laos as a young girl; Brendali Menjivar, who survived violence and poverty in El Salvador only to face betrayal and separation in her search for the American dream.

In this edition of Next Door Neighbors, we examine the lives of several Middle Tennesseans who grapple with what it means to belong, to be foreign-born and still fit into American culture. How do experiences of acceptance and rejection shape our worldview and define our quality of life? Belonging shares the experiences of immigrants in a world where rules and attitudes are constantly changing.

In this edition on Next Door Neighbors, we’ll meet individuals from three of the United States’ largest migration source countries: India, China and The Philippines. We'll discover what motivated their journeys to the U.S. and what animates their lives here in Middle Tennessee.

NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS: TASTE OF HOME is part of NPT's documentary series featuring stories from Middle Tennessee’s immigrant and refugee communities. This latest program shows how Nashville’s Venezuelan, Ethiopian and Palestinian communities use food to nurture a sense of identity and tradition, as well as to establish connections with their neighbors.

Nashville may be the home of country music, but it's also home to a growing number of new Americans, and their voices are helping reshape the sound of Music City. In this edition of Nashville Public Television’s NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS, we'll hear three stories that challenge ideas of tradition, legacy and opportunity in a city built on songs.

2020 was a year of tumultuous change, forcing Nashville to reckon with health disparities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic; the realities of systemic-racial inequality; and ongoing questions of what it means to participate in American democracy. In this episode of Next Door Neighbors, we'll explore each of these areas through the lens of Nashville's immigrant and refugee communities.

Bullying. Barriers to communication. The traumas of war. These are just a few of the challenges immigrants and refugees may face as they begin new lives in a foreign land. But far from being defeated, they often tap inspiring levels of resilience. Learn how several individuals in Middle Tennessee find peace of mind in activities that promote mental well-being.

Three Tennesseans who moved to the state from another country share what surprised them about the food, homes and customs they encountered. They identify a range of culture shocks–from waving to fellow drivers on country roads to the presence of pet food in grocery stores and eating dinner at 5:30 p.m. The three discuss how over time things that once seemed novel started feeling like part of home.