Search Interviews

UVA students, Kendal Johnson (21) from Hampton, Virginia, and Maeron Kebede (21) from Mclean, Virginia recorded a One Small Step Conversation as part of their course 'Lead From Anywhere.' They explored our experiences discovering politics and refining our political beliefs...

One Small Step partners Gregory "Greg" Greenway (71) and Randall "Randy" Cirksena (63) exchange lived experiences and discuss their civil war ancestors, first jobs as bank tellers, and not choosing a race on the StoryCorps paperwork.

One Small Step conversation participants James "Jim" Morgan (52) and Greg Lingo (69) sit down for a conversation about they ways in which history is important to them, how Richmond has changed, and looking at their parents retroactively.

One Small Step conversation partners Amanda Smith (38) and Peter Wood (73) have a conversation about relationships, racism, and the issue of political polarization within the United States.

One Small Step conversation partners Donna Slaughter (72) and Ellen Rennels (73) have a conversation about education and how to talk to people of differing beliefs.

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.

Laura Peterson (52) talks with fellow Delta Gamma Fraternity member, Tracy Kelly Solheim (61), about her youth as a military kid as well as her subsequent writing career.

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.

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

Oscar Benoit (70) speaks with their friend Mitzi Moss Duhon (69) about their experience integrating Northside High School in Lafayette, Louisiana, where Mitzi attended, in 1970.

Friends Mary Guercio (80) and Patricia Colbert-Comier [no age given] discuss their involvement in the Lafayette Biracial Committee and the integration of schools in the 1980s.

One Small Step conversation partners Mark Samuel (62) and Paula Veldhuis (62) discuss the generational approaches to racism in the US, assumptions people make about them, and their troubles with the current presidential candidates.

One Small Step conversation partners Jason Smithberg (47) and Francine Oputa (70) talk about race relations in the US, the current political divide, and their social and political views.

Dwania Kyles (67) speaks with conversation partner Diane Bezucha (39) about her experience as a member of the the Memphis 13-- the inaugural class of first graders to desegregate schools in Memphis, TN. Dwania reflects on the work of her...

Diane Hayes Powers (69) speaks to her daughter Destiny McLurkin (39) about being a part of Seattle's bussing program during school desegregation. Diane speaks about the challenges she faced as a Black student at a majority white school and how...

Della Kostelnik Juarez (61) tells her daughter Julia Juarez-Kostelnik (22) about her experiences participating in a voluntary bussing/racial transfer program as an elementary school student in Seattle. Della describes how being the only white kid in a predominantly Black school...

Siblings Dorothy Davis (69) and Benjamin Davis (67) reflect on their time growing up as children of foreign service workers. They discuss the differences between going to school abroad versus in the United States as Black students during the early...

Friends Janise Wriddle (62) and Sylester "Miles" Miles (62) describe their experiences as young students during the period of desegregation in schools. Both recall the racism and colorism they've experienced in their lives.

Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law Tonia Reaves (51) and Robin Young (23) talk about their experiences in school. They reflect on the impact of racism on their educational upbringings, their experiences adapting to multi-racial school environments, and their hopes for future generations.

One Small Step partners Charles "Charlie" Dyson (80) and Dennis Green (64) discuss their faith, their and judgement and acceptance of people in society and church, and how we can try to heal from the division.

Friends John Rossi (65) and Patrick Nolan (58) remember their experiences growing up amidst school desegregation efforts in Seattle, Washington.

Mother and son Stefanie Felix (69) and Mitchell Green (38) speak about Stefanie's experience attending a multiracial high school in San Francisco, California amidst nationwide school desegregation efforts.

Cindy Buske (54) and her son Josh Soldwedel (29) discuss Cindy's experiences with desegregation in Seattle. As an elementary school student, Cindy had minority students bused into her school. Then as a high school student, Cindy was bused from her...

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.

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...