Bracewell and Rizk Family Photographs

Title

Subject

Families

Photographs

Description

Biographical/Historical Note

Houda Rizk Bracewell was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Soumaya Sokhn and Nassif Elias Rizk. She had three brothers, Elie, Tony, and Michel. Her father, Nassif Rizk, studied aircraft engineering in Scotland and worked with the English army during World War II. He was an aircraft engineer in Lebanon.

The Rizk family lived in Lebanon until the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War. Houda and her older brothers moved to the United States on student visas for their safety, first staying with family in Boston and then Philadelphia. After their youngest son was struck by shrapnel, Soumaya and Nassif followed their older children, moving the whole family to the United States.

Houda completed high school in Florida and then studied in California, where her parents moved following their emigration from Lebanon. She married Greg Bracewell in 1982 and had two children, Stephen and Susana Bracewell. Houda and Greg moved to Charlotte, North Carolina shortly after their marriage.

In North Carolina, Houda became an active member of the Metrolina club, a group of Lebanese Americans who fundraised for hospitals and orphanages in Lebanon, provided scholarships, and educated younger generations about Lebanese culture.

Scope/Content Note

This collection contains photographs documenting Houda Rizk Bracewell’s childhood in Lebanon and the Bracewell family in the United States.

Source

Houda Bracewell

Publisher

Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies

Date

undated

Contributor

Processed by Khayrallah Program staff. Collection Guide content contributed by Claire A. Kempa and updated by Allison Hall, 2023 November.

Rights

The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.