M. Charisma Williams and Peter Cober

Peter (P) shares his life story. He says growing up he lived in six different states. P adds that his dad was a minister and that being raised as a preacher’s kid was a horrible experience. P says he has been married for forty-five years and has two kids. He says he had a career in consulting and spent a lot of time working with kids outside of work.

Charisma (C) talks about her upbringing. She says her mother owned an in-home daycare which is why she is child-free by choice. C says she grew up as “the smart kid” and knew she was going to college before she even understood what college was. C says she is a daddy’s girl and explains that her father poured into her his love for learning. C adds that she is currently a corporate consultant.

P reflects on a CEO who had a big influence on him when he was a consultant. P says the man encouraged him to challenge himself and think bigger for himself.

C shares that her mother was abusive to her and a lot of her formative years were filled with unkindness. She says it’s been women who have stepped in to mentor her and teach her the things her mom might have taught her.

C shares her earliest memory of politics. She says she grew up in the eighties under the Reagan presidency and while she remembers very little about the administration, she remembers conversations adults would have about it.

P says his formative years were in the sixties which were really turbulent times. P recalls going through the draft.

P and C share why they wanted to participate in the interview.

C describes her job as a disaster engineer.

P reflects on coming of age in the 1960s. He says the experience has helped him cope with the turbulence of current times.

C and P talk about their travel experiences.

C talks about her desire to visit Korea. She says she has been interested in Korean culture since she was an undergraduate student and recalls a Korean tv show she watched that sparked her interest in the country.

P talks about a trip to Israel where he had to fly a Jordanian airline and says it was the first time in his life that he felt out of place and the first time he was surrounded by people who spoke a different language.

C recalls attending an event on Capitol Hill. She says while leaving the White House grounds she walked on the grass and when she apologized to a secret service agent, he told her, “mam this is your grass too.” C explains why that comment meant so much to her. C contrasts that day to her experience of the January 6th attacks.

P shares that his son’s girlfriend is Black and has had some terrible experiences that she’s shared with him. He says thinking back to his experience in Israel helps him better understand her.

C explains that she is a completely different person when she travels than when she is in the United States because she doesn’t feel safe in the United States.

P shares his hopes for the country’s future: that we become one country again. P also expresses concerns for kids who have been out of school for over two years during the pandemic.

C shares her hopes for the future of the United States: healing from COVID, racism, and all the things that have plagued us and divided us. C says she also wishes healing for herself. She shares she lost a friend and a relative to COVID and hasn’t had a chance to properly process their deaths.