Stories in the 'Witness' category
“It's a premature aging disorder...”
Barbara Cooper (L) tells her mother, Jody Houston (R), about living with a form of the rare genetic condition, Progeria.
Recorded in Abilene, TX.
“We saw the searchlight from the patrol boat...”
Gustavo Mestas talks to his daughter, Ileana, about escaping from Cuba to the U.S. in 1963.
Recorded in Georgetown, DE.
“They would allow potential parents to check you out like a library book.”
Ray Martinez remembers growing up in an orphanage during the 1950s.
Recorded in Fort Collins, CO.
“By the time I was in the second grade, everyone was calling me Raymond.”
Ramón "Chunky" Sanchez remembers how teachers changed the names of Mexican-American students during the 1950s.
Recorded in San Diego, CA.
“We wanted to be treated as men.”
Elmore Nickelberry and Taylor Rogers remember why they went on strike as Memphis sanitation workers in 1968.
Recorded in Memphis, TN. Click here for more stories from the strike
“He really talked that night.”
Retired Memphis sanitation worker Taylor Rogers and his wife, Bessie, remember Martin Luther King Jr.'s final speech.
Recorded in Memphis, TN. Click here for more stories from the strike.
“I couldn't understand why all the black men had signs that said 'I AM A MAN.'”
Reverend George Turks, Jr. remembers witnessing the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike as a teenager. Click here to see a photo from the strike.
Recorded in Memphis, TN. Click here for more stories from the strike.
“A policeman was coming down the street...”
Ella Owens (L) tells her daughter, Lynn Reed, about participating in a march during the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike.
Recorded in Memphis, TN. Click here for more stories from the strike.
“When Dr. King was assassinated, I was on the air.”
Herb Kneeland (L) tells his son Martavius Jones about being a disc jockey at WDIA in Memphis on April 4, 1968.
Recorded in Memphis, TN.
“The bulletin came across the TV...”
Kathy Dean Evans remembers the night Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
Recorded in Memphis, TN.