Search Interviews

Sarah Beth (32) asked Steven (50) about how he was indoctrinated into the leather community, his Motorcycle club and leather club, and how his met his partner Steph. They talk about the devastation that AIDS had in the leather community...

Amy Sheffield (63) talks to her new acquaintance, Karen Morris (45), about shame and silence in her family history, her earliest memories of feeling different, the moment when she crossed paths with her beloved for the first time when she...

Michael Chad St. John (28) and Andrew Freemire (68) talk about their relationship as artists and their collaborative art practice.

Raymundo Gomez Hernandez (22) talks to his husband Alexander Ewers (24) about growing up in Mexico City knowing at an early age that he was gay, even before he knew there was a word for it. He talks about heroes,...

Jonah Holm (27) and their father, John Holm (56), talk about their relationship growing and changing through Jonah's struggle with suicide and addiction. Jonah talks about being inspired by John and deciding to give their life to God as a...

Kim Hunt (57) and her friend, Ken Mejia-Beals [no age given], talk about their lives and work, particularly related to intersectionality within activist movements and communities.

Raymond Lauk (59) spoke to his great uncle and aunt, Vito (92) and Josephine Simone (90). Vito served on the USS WASP aircraft carrier during World War II. He recalls his time serving for the military and how he met...

Jason Loper (43) and his friend Amy Short (43) reflect on their many years of friendship and remember when they came out to each other twenty-five years ago.

Ian Kerstetter (25) speaks with H. Melt (27) about being queer and their experience as part of the queer community of Chicago as artist and writer.

Melanie DeJoode (55) talks to her son Felix DeJoode (19) about how they both experienced Felix's coming out as transgender.

James Kelly (70) is interviewed by friend and fellow PeaceCorps member Miguel Colón (29). Kelly talks about the difficulties of being closeted while in service in El Salvador beginning in 1969 and the work he did to help LGBTQ PeaceCorps...

Michael Jackson (71) is interviewed by StoryCorps staff Andre Perez (26) about coming out and what his experiences in life have been like as a gay man.

Anna DeShawn (31) talks with her friend and fellow board member Chris Smith (52) about growing up in Chicago in different generations. The two also talk about coming out and what it means for them to be black and queer...

Donald M. Bell (70) is interviewed by his friend and colleague Jack Rothmund (22) about his family history, coming out as a gay man, and the ways Chicago has shaped his life as an activist for the LGBTQ+ community.

Rachel Parsons (36) and her partner Nick Hnatiw (38) talk about how their relationship grew over time. They talk about the ease of being together, while not ignoring the difficulty of queer invisibility and missing a sense of belonging and...

Mary Allen DesJardin (54) is interviewed by her son Jonah Higinbotham (31) on her journey supporting a son with autism and Jonah's trans identity.

Charlene (29) and Gloria (69) talk about growing up in Chicago, their sexual orientations and gender identities, and how LGBTQ terminology has changed over the years. Gloria shares stories about being gay and then transitioning and living an out life...

Todd Dockerty (47) has a conversation with his mother Mary Dockerty (76) that reflects on his coming-out story in a Christian conservative family.

Michael Grover (38) and his wife Lea Grover (36) talk about how Michael's glioblastoma symptoms have gotten worse in the last year, how the COVID-19 pandemic has made getting care challenging, and how he wants his three daughters to remember...

George Bickford (72) talks to his new friend Karen Morris (45) about being a gay man in the US Air Force in the 1970s. He remembers attitudes on homosexuality in the Military in the 1970s as "tolerant." He describes the...