Search Interviews

Talking about her shift towards loving beautiful, natural African American hair, and wondering about the roots of identity.

Elliot Schewel, 84, was interviewed by his daughter, Susan Schewel, 53 about his life in Lynchburg Virginia where he has lived all of his life. He told the story about his response to the Orson Wells radio program “War of...

Jackie Neale talks with her student, Lila Chapman about how she is feeling in the time of the Coronavirus global pandemic. Lila is Jackie's ungrad photography student at the New York Film Academy and upon being given the stay-at-home mandate...

Wonder how it feels to major in a predominantly male based major in college? Well, McKenzie Takes On Engineering: is about McKenzie’s journey throughout her educational journey that has inspired and led her to obtain a degree in Mechanical Engineering....

Classmates Pamm McNeil ’82 and Tracy Heather Strain ’82 share their own preconceptions and early encounters with racism on campus during the 1980s, and they discuss how Ethos and Harambee House made class, social, and geographical “crossings” possible, fostering unexpectedly...

Mother and business woman Mikaya (38) and daughter Kimaya (16) discuss how the business and adversities faced as black women.

Friends and former colleagues Carlton Brantley (60), Larry Dowdell (70), and Reginal Richardson (64), talk about working for the Muscogee County School District and their fight to receive their retirement fund. They discuss their legal battle and the verdict and...

Malika Jeffries-El ’96, Shelly Davis ’97, and Katrina Mitchell ’96 recount the evolution of Ethos’ objectives from advocating for diversity and inclusion on campus to thinking about the broader aspects of being black women in the world. They touch on...

Louraiseal McDonald (45) and Toni Trees (74) are two strangers who sat down for a One Small Step Conversation. They talk about lessons learned from their mothers, their love of their professions, and the importance of black history.

Food is more than a source of sustenance, it is a tool for socioeconomic advancement, and a symbol that generates individual or collective memories that help establish identity. Food highlights cultural identity because it is a force that defines social...

In this interview, conducted in November 2017 in Flint, Michigan, Senia Langston (15) interviews her mom Leigh Langston (42) about her life growing up. Leigh talks about her passion about writing. She also talks about being raised by a single...

This interview reflected on a black women’s experience with their personal interactions within healthcare and how it affected their personal life.

Cameron Hart (19) and her One Small Step partner, Mattias Mercado (19), discuss their thoughts on gun violence, police brutality, the Trump administration and more.

Marta Pearson (72) talks with her friend DeAnna Hadley (52) about sympathy, empathy, racism, the pain it causes and the need for African-American stories to be shared. She describes seeing a raw cotton field for the first time, being denied...

I discuss the election of 2008 to my father, a Caucasian male at the age of 52. He shares with me his hopes that he held for Obama and whether or not he found Obama to be a promising candidate....

La Donna Williams is a Native ATLien, ordained minister, womanist, theatre artist, and lover of the arts. She’s one of the valued facilitators at Equitable Dinners. Here she talks about her experience switching from a white school system to a...

Phyllis Wimberly ( My Grandmom ) spent her 40 year career as a Washington DC public school teacher integrating her AP English classes. As an activist and teacher her goal was to send kids to college that wouldn’t have otherwise...

In this interview, conducted in November 2021 in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, Channon Wilson(16) interviews her mother(46) about her life and the lessons she learned in the city she grew up in. Ms. Taylor shares stories about her happiest...

Originally a celebration of Black History Month, February 2018, Middlebury College's Davis Family Library initiated a series of oral interviews, "In Your Own Words." In them, Literatures & Cultures Librarian Katrina Spencer engages members of the community who trace their...

Executive Producer Nichelle S. Carr (Class of 1998) introduces the Black Women of Amherst College Storytelling Project

In May 2020, communities across the United States were emerging from shelter-at-home measures put in place to stem the COVID-19 pandemic. In Minneapolis, George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was killed when a white police officer kneeled on his neck...

Eugene Milton Williams, also known as "Milton," discusses his life and experience as a member of the Oakland Fire Department. Milton was the first African-American firefighter to integrate Oakland fire houses between 1954 and 1955. This interview was conducted by...

Lusharon Wiley (70) and her fiancé Ernest Dawson (70) discuss Ernest's family, his time attending Pensacola High School during integration, being the first black football player on the team, his time at Tuskegee University and those who encouraged him along...

Monica Whatley (32) interviews her friend, Bandele [no name given] (73), about his incarceration in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Bandele reflects on what he learned during the 33 years during which he was detained, his relationship...

Blaire Washington (16) interviews Blair Imani (26), a historian, educator, author, and influencer, about her life as a black queer Muslim woman. They talk about why Blair decided to educate people and what she educates them about, her struggles and...