Posts by ewuerffe
Felt a Lot of Pride
“I was thinking black power was a good thing.” Produced by Rebecca Werner with interviews recorded by StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. www.storycorps.org Felt a Lot of Pride I was born in Terre…
Read MoreNeighborhood, Community, and Country
“I don’t know any other way to operate. I can’t just sit around and say, ‘Oh, well. That’s the way it is.’” Produced by Rebecca Werner with interviews recorded by StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories…
Read MoreMore Than a Way Out
“Like a priest to a church, I wanna do my part…I want to serve my country.” Produced by Perry Lerit. Transcript for More Than a Way Out I went into the army at the age of 17. I was still in high school when I signed up, they would have a delayed entry program. So,…
Read MoreA Well-Kept Secret
“If you don’t have access to the information, you don’t know what your potential is.” Produced by Reagan Skaggs. Transcript for A Well-Kept Secret I remember going to Pulaski. Pulaski was a middle school back then. Seventh grade, we had a speech teacher. She introduced us to black poets—black poetry—and all of us kids was…
Read MoreBattle Scars
“To see somebody else struggling and to be able to lend a hand or lend an ear—that’s living a diaconal life.” Produced by Rebecca Werner. Transcript for Battle Scars I wanted to be a twenty-year man more than anything in this world. However, you get battle scars as you go along. I do have all…
Read MoreLineage
“‘Dad’s going to play Army.’ That’s what they would say.” Produced by Rebecca Werner. Transcript for Lineage My impression of the military probably comes from my family. Members of the family have been in every major conflict since, like, almost the beginning. My dad, most recently, was a Vietnam veteran before he passed away. My…
Read MorePraying Hands
“I remember watching this church being built.” – Mrs. Felicia Rhetta Childress, confirmed in St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in 1955. Produced by Perry Lerit. Transcript for Praying Hands I remember the people in St. Augustine’s [St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Gary, Indiana]. Flossie Alexander, and we called them Flossie and Fritz because the two of…
Read MoreDefining Moment
“I had a mother tell me, ‘Bring my boy home safe.’” Produced by Rebecca Werner. Transcript for Defining Moment At the time that 9/11 kicked off, I was working as a civilian police officer. Like the rest of the country, that impacted me greatly. Just getting my mind wrapped around that, “Wow, we’ve been attacked.”…
Read MoreThis Whole Grace Thing Rocks
“Like I really enjoy this life thing, so I want to give it a shot, and part of that is accepting who I am.” Produced by Courtney Earl. Transcript for This Whole Grace Thing Rocks So I knew that I liked guys and girls when I was like thirteen. I was like this is really…
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