Search Interviews

Coworkers Esther Louis (37), Cortes Lewis James (50), and Yakesha Llewellyn (32) talk about their work as doulas and the importance of interrupting the Black maternal health crisis.

Colleagues Melissa Bonner (44) and Shavon Chester (40) talk about the legacy of Dr. Ella Mae Piper, a prominent community leader and Black businesswoman of Fort Myers in the early 1900s.

Friends and colleagues Vahisha Hasan (45) and Tamekia Greer (47) discuss creativity, sacred spaces, and the Memphis community.

Friends Queen Keskessa (51) and Antonio Quinn Edwards (58) speak about their first impressions of each other, Antonio’s identity as an artist, and Queen’s experience coming to the United States and her Ethiopian identity.

Friends Carolyn Michael-Banks (66) and Menelik Fombi (68) speak about Fombi’s experiences as a member of the “Memphis Thirteen,” a group of Black students that integrated Memphis’s segregated school system at the elementary level.

Brenda Reid (64) tells her friend Kiplyn Primus (62) about her life and her career with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Publix Super Markets.

Former teacher, Ashley Austin (38) speaks with her husband, Chris Austin (40) a former teacher in Charlotte, North Carolina about the challenges of a first year teacher in a segregated high school.

Kiplyn Primus (62) talks with her friend Myrna Clayton [no age given] about their experiences growing up.

Friends, colleagues, and co-mentors Tamir D. Harper (23) and Horace Ryans III (21) share how they have supported and inspired each other, first as students in high school, and now as people working and studying to better the American education...

One Small Step conversation partners Susan Johnstad (55) and Romero Robbins (62) have a conversation about how the places they grew up in impacted their lives, losing their sisters and being known, and the stories behind their ideas about patriotism.

Jaha Cummings (50) speaks with his mother Martha Bireda (78) about the importance of community, people who influenced him during childhood, and carrying on his ancestors' legacies.

Friends and colleagues Anasa Troutman [no age given] and Wendi Thomas (52) reflect on their work with MLK50 and restoring the Historic Clayborn Temple, the power of art and storytelling in their work, and their visions for Memphis.

Kerry Johnson (30) speaks with his mother Marie Galloway (64) about her experiences growing up in Memphis during the desegregation era and her relationship with her family.

Friends and colleagues DeMarcus Jones (34) and Daniel Thompson (30) discuss how they met, living in the South as Black gay men, and co-directing their organization, Headliners.

Colleagues Katherine Burgess (31) and Michael "Mike" Finch (35) talk about their upbringing and how they became interested in journalism.

Kiplyn Primus (62) talks with her friend Wonya Lucas (62) about their shared experiences growing up together.

Partners Joi Purvy (35) and Jasper Joyner (33) sit down to talk about their beloved city, Memphis. The two talk reflect on the kind and welcoming community that has embraced them and provided them security as Black queers. They also...

Dr. Rosie Phillips Davis (74) and her husband John Davis (79), discuss her childhood marred by poverty, and the people who nurtured her to be successful in the field of psychology and her mission to combat the ills of poverty.

Christopher "Chris" Sweet (60) and his wife Vanessa Sweet (59) discuss their love story, family bonding, and how their faith informs their lives.

Friends Anita Garrett (59) and Faida Whitaker-Mfomboutmoun (43) discuss the passage of time, preserving the legacies of their ancestors, and lessons they would like to pass down to future generations.

Friends Vaneet Singh (43) and Queen Keskessa (51) speak about their journeys to the United States, their first impressions of each other, and Vaneet’s Sikh faith.

Gwyneth Wint [no age given] speaks with her mother Helen Wint (96) about the stories of her life, Helen's upbringing, and the changes to their mother-daughter relationship over time.

Finzo Hall (33) and his mother Marcia Robinson (54) talk about their journey to the United States and Finzo's career as a pilot. Marcia calls this story "The Power of Faith and Resilience."

Jasper St. Bernard (40) speaks with his daughter Chaeli St. Bernard (17) about their fondest memories of one another, what they have learned from each other, and hopes for each of their futures.

StoryCorps Facilitator Kiplyn Primus (62) has a conversation with Dr. Jeffrey Ogbar (54) about his book, America's Black Capital: How African Americans Remade Atlanta in the Shadow of the Confederacy.