Scope and Contents This oral history interview was conducted with Nicolette Williams by Kristin Adair in Washington, D.C. Nicolette Williams was born in Washington, D.C. She talks about being raised by her aunt in Southeast D.C., because both of her parents were on drugs when she was a child. She describes returning to live with her mother at the age of 13, at which point she started getting involved in street life. She was in and out of the 14 years to life for murder. She served 16 years in prison and...

Abstract

Ms. Earls discusses growing up in D.C., mostly in Shaw, her early sense of herself as different and coming into her gender and sexuality, the importance of dancing and performance to her from an early age, her struggle with addiction and time in prison, go-go and hand dancing, being in the National Museum of African American History, remembering everyone who has passed and her thankfulness for living to such an age.

Scope and Contents

The Whitman-Walker Health Oral History Collection contains 10 audio interviews of members of the Whitman-Walker community. The interviews were conducted by Hannah Byrne and Jewel Addy in late 2017 and early 2018 to celebrate the 40th Anniversay of Whitman-Walker Health. Transcripts are included for all interviews.

Abstract This project seeks to answer the question: how have the changes in D.C. over the past several decades been experienced and influenced by transgender individuals and communities? Individuals who are transgender, marginalized by society at large, have a unique perspective on history, at the same time as they are left out of mainstream accounts of events. This project documents the events of the final decades of the 20th century and first few of the 21st through the eyes of transgender elders,...

Abstract In this oral history interview, Mr. Wes Morrison discusses his life and experiences moving from Durham, North Carolina, to Washington, D.C., in 1959. The interview begins with a discussion of Mr. Morrison’s early life in Durham. Mr. Morrison talks about his grandmother and aunt, who raised him, and the Brookstown community in which they lived. He also shares memories of his upbringing and educational experiences in Durham and discusses racial segregation and race relations in the city. Mr....