Search Interviews

One Small Step conversation partners Eric Davis (64) & Mary Lewis (78) discuss their lifelong witnessing of race relations, racism, and working for change.

Harry Freeman (80) speaks with his friend Charles "Charlie" Pazar (71) about Charlie's life, his career as an immigration judge, and their lunch group with themselves and several other friends.

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

Deveney V. Perry (28) talks with her "friendleague" friend and colleague Kirstin L. Cheers (28) about the current state of Memphis, being "Memphians", the "villages" that raised them, their faith, art as a form of advocacy, why they chose public...

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...

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.

Tracy Crump (64) and her husband, Lee Crump (73), discuss their love story, their love for Memphis, and the joy of retirement.

One Small Step Partners, Marc Bady (38) and Keith Bergthold (72), discuss their community involvement in Fresno and reflect on the role that music, arts, and culture can play in being unifying forces.

Dennis Faherty (61) interviews his wife, Pat Faherty (62), about her childhood memories, and she shares her experiences growing up all over the country.

Kathy Lofton (no age given) speaks with colleague Taylor Stuckert (no age given) on their work with Lead for America’s American Connection Corps and the strengthening of their connection to community through service.

Crystal DeBerry (40) talked with her board members Kristy Smith (45) and Torey DeBerry (43) about the creation of Indomitable Families Affected by Incarceration (IFAM). They discuss why they started and continue this work.

Sarah Hunter Simanson (32) and her husband Robert "Andrew" Fields (32) discuss their life and being young parents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

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.

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

John Lizarraga (63) and his wife Lynn Lizarraga (64) discuss their upbringings, how they both became educators and how they met.

Glenda Tate [no age given] shares a conversation with her mentee, Jamila Raybourn (31), about Jamila’s childhood, her family, her dreams and purpose, what brings her joy, and how she arrived where she is now.

Stacy Spencer (51) and his wife Rhonda Spencer (50) discuss their childhoods, a passion for social justice, the establishment of an interfaith organization designed to balance the equity in Memphis [MICAH], mutual community contributions, and the impact of the Civil...

James Valentine (58) shares a conversation with his mother, Doris Dolph (91), about her childhood, family, nursing career, volunteer work, and autobiographical book.

Tammam "Tom" Abouassaf (53) talks with his daughter Amal Abouassaf (21) about immigrating to the United States, his experience of culture shock, and what he is most proud of in his life.

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.

Yvonne Matthews (69) and her conversation partner Franchesca Peña [no age given] discuss Yvonne's upbringing, what originally motivated her to pursue music, and several milestones in her career as a musician and educator.

Husband and wife, Johnny "John" Davis (79) and Rosie Phillips Davis (74), talk about John’s life, his military service, and becoming a physician’s assistant.

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.

Husband and wife Stephen DeAngelo (41) and Evelyn DeAngelo (41) discuss Evelyn's upbringing in Louisiana and how the two met and decided to marry.