True stories of everyday people
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Bryan Hudson
Tired of negative media content in 2000, Bryan Hudson used a Lilly Endowment Grant to establish a Media Camp so that African Americans and other young people could benefit from positive mentoring and learn to be media producers.
Marcia Louise Baker
Commuting from Tallahassee, Florida to Pelham, Georgia, Marcia Baker taught in an all boys school in the early 1970’s. She tells about bringing a new cassette recorder and tough love to her classroom of underprivileged children.
Sherril Lyn Adkins
In the Summer of 1966 Sherril Adkins got a job as a waitress at Catfish King in Birmingham, Alabama. Having grown up on integrated military bases she had not yet experienced the racism of ordinary white folks of the South. When the restaurant would not serve an...
Nichole Leigh Markle
Nicole Markle tells of her love of dance and how her mother struggled to pay for the education that would lead away from rural Virginia to a much bigger world.
Don Steffy
May 4, 1970, Kent State University in Ohio: Having passed up a chance to attend The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, Don Steffy switched to Bowling Green State University for a draft exempt status. In this excerpt of Don’s life story he tells about...
Megan McKinney Cooper
Megan McKinney Cooper tells how In the late 70’s after her parents’ divorce, her mother earned an MBA, moved the family to San Francisco, and she and her brother became “Latch Key Kids.”
Andrew Dale Hamaker
In an excerpt of his story about the life lessons learned from his father, Andrew tells about how his parents encouraged their children to learn to play music. One Christmas evening they found a clever way to channel Andrew’s passion for playing the snare drum.
Beverly Martin
As a young person, Beverly Martin applied degrees in Sociology and Library Science along with her parent’s sense of adventure to her work in the VISTA program near Laredo,Texas.
JoEllen Florio-Rossebo
JoEllen reflects on the home of her early childhood where her Italian Grandparents created a beautiful, safe garden close to the heart of Chicago.