“All they saw was the violence. They did not see the peace. They did not see the change.” Transcript for Just Got the Impression I grew up in the Tolleston area of Gary which was, at the time, very Germanic and some Polish. I went to St. John’s Lutheran Church which was the first church […]
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Inmates Are People, Too
“I have learned some amazing, life-changing thoughts and ideologies from inmates.” Edited by Thu Nguyen. Transcript for Inmates Are People, Too I was a correctional officer here in Indiana for five years and that is a very taxing job emotionally and physically. When you think about a prison environment, there’s all kinds of horrific stuff […]
Military Vibe
“You realize the strength of your mind…just by convincing yourself of how strong you are.” Edited by Thu Nguyen. Transcript for Military Vibe When I was in high school, there was a group of recruiters that came to school and there was one from every branch and I just remember the soldier that was there […]
You’re Not White
“It was like something switched in my head…” Edited by Thu Nguyen. Transcript for You’re Not White When I look back at a lot of things, I’m viewing them through a different lens, you know, and so I’m trying to absorb everything I can from those vivid memories and so I appreciate everything–the good and […]
More 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, […]
A 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 […]
Praying 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 […]
We Were Bussed
“… we were in school together, but we were separated.” Editing by Welcome Project intern Brandi Casada. Transcript for We Were Bussed Originally, the East Side of Gary, which is anything east of Broadway. See, downtown was flourishing then, so we’re going to say from 8th Avenue down to 5th Avenue was the business district. […]
A Really Troubled Past
“It’s hard to argue with the values of a diverse population.” Edited by Reagan Skaggs. Transcript for A Really Troubled Past Indiana has a really troubled past with race. Marion was a very segregated city, and Marion, Indiana is the site of the last lynching in Indiana in 1936. And I think that that […]