Search Interviews

Babz Rawls Ivy (56) talks with her friend Lucy Gellman (30) about her life, work and community in New Haven, CT. She remembers her early life in Church Street South and changes in the neighborhood, shares her drive for public...

Ann Bishop (82) and Steven A. Gibson (58) talk about their involvement in the organization Military Families Speak Out, and all the work they've done protesting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sheila Stiles Jewell (77) talks with her friend Ainissa Ramirez (51) about her career as a marine biologist. She describes her early experiences with nature, her journey to marine biology and her work in the field, including her work creating...

Twin sisters, Sheila Conway [no age given] and Sharon Malone [no age given] were among the first black students in Memphis, TN integrated into predominately white public schools, known as the Memphis 13. The two recall the violence they faced...

Jeannette Holland (68) speaks with her son Erik Townsend (31) about her experience transferring high schools her Junior year at the onset of integration in Nashville, Tennessee. Jeannette recalls the safety and support she felt at her all-Black high school...

Long-time friends and colleagues Madaha Kinsey-Lamb (73) and Jim Marley (80) discuss their work and friendship over the years.

Genese Calloway Clark (39) talks with her mother, Melanie Calloway [no age given]. They remember Melanie's mother, Richelene Mitchell who wrote a memoir, and reflect on the importance of having her words with them. Melanie also shares her love of...

Ronald Gibbs (62) speaks with old co-worker Diane Shaw (58) about how they got into law enforcement, what they think it means to be an officer, and how trainings from the Holocaust Museum have shaped how they see the work...

Anya Wallace (32) and Jillian Hernandez (33) talk about their academic and art work, feminism, girlhood, and their work with girls at risk.

Long-time MESA partners Patricia MacGowan (68) and James Dorsey (55) talk about their work with the Washington Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement Organization.

Trista (36) interviews her colleague Rashaan (40) about his career in philanthropy, how he got started, and why he works in the field. They also talk about issues of diversity in the world of philanthropic work.

Karim Abdullah (70) speaks with friend and colleague Phillip Hill (59) about his life growing up in Memphis and his family's history. Karim discusses the independent Black community of Mound Bayou, his experience as a student in a segregated school,...

Sarah Fritchey (37) interviews her friend, colleague, and co-conspirator Kwadwo Adae (43) about his work as a muralist. They discuss his childhood and the inspiration he received from his parents, how he realized the importance of collaboration, and the murals...

U.S. Navy yeoman Jacob Tate (30) talks with his husband Carson Pursifull (27) about identity, military service, and their story of falling in love.

Friends, Seth Wispelwey (37) and Don Gathers (58) speak about their experience of the alt-right Unite the Right rally that took place in Charlottesville, VA on August 11th/12th, 2017. They offer some historical context for the emergence of the rally...

Tracey (40) interviews Pam (56) about her experience as an African-American student at Wellesley College 35 years ago.

Vivian (19) and Timothy (22) talk about their involvement with after school programs at MOCA-- first as students and later as educators.

Grayce Gadson (71) shares with her colleague Kleopatra Gaiter (32) anecdotes from her time as a student in Florida, Indiana, and California during the desegregation of schools in America. Grayce and Kleopatra compare their varying experience with school institutions, specifically...

Mother, Amelia Gowdy (56) and her daughter, Jamila Gowdy (16) talk about Sgt. John Gowdy's 30 year military career with the Marines.

Madaha Kinsey-Lamb (73) sits down with friend and colleague Egeria Bennett (72) to speak about the early days of Mind-Builders -- a non-profit arts education center located in Bronx. They reflect on the obstacles they faced, how they chose teachers...

Sheryl Dobson (60) asks her mentor and friend, Rev. Dr. Bessie Duncan (80) about her relationship to God, and her most important experiences and life teachings.

Sisters Dorna Innis (78) and Laura James (75) talk about their upbringing in Panama, their careers, and family.

Husband and wife, Gloria Pillow (75) and Thomas Pillow (76), reflect on being a part of the last generation to attend segregated schools in Nashville, Tennessee. They speak fondly of their experience at their all-Black high school, Cameron.

Stuart Shapiro (67) talks with his daughter, Akinyi Zmirrah Shapiro (24), about his work at the NIH researching AIDs/HIV and about Akinyi's mother passed away from AIDs.

Dwania Kyles (67) speaks with friend and fellow member of the Memphis 13 Leandrew Wiggins (68). The two discuss their differing experiences as members of the initial group of Black first graders who integrated Memphis schools during desegregation.