Abstract Layne Garrett discusses growing up in a typical household in Tennessee and spending his childhood, visiting family on long road trips to Texas. While interest in music was always present in Layne’s life, it was in high school that exposure to outsider literature and open tuning in guitar brought him to be a part of music projects and pursue creative expression. He reflects on four years of living in a new city in Phoenix after college, where lack of social engagements got him to experiment...

Abstract Leslie Bumstead talks about moving around the world as a child, because of work of her father as a CIA agent. She reflects on finding confessional poetry as an outlet to deal with teenage angst and adolescent issues. She is later introduced to experimental poetry in D.C., building connections and re-imagining what poetry can look like. Leslie spends some time in El Salvador, recording oral histories of women guerilla fighters and doing other NGO work in the region. She meets her husband, a...

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Ms. Sarvis discusses growing up in D.C., mostly in Carver/Langston in Northeast, her early sense of herself as different and coming into her gender and sexuality, her older sister also being trans, going to clubs and performing, the impact of the AIDS epidemic, her time in prison, her involvement with transgender and HIV/AIDS organizations including Transgender Health Empowerment, and the changes in the city.

Abstract In this oral history Michael Golash talks about how his early life influenced his decision to take a leadership role in the 1978 Metro wildcat strike and the ways that the strike played a central role in many of his future decisions. First, Golash speaks about growing up in Albany, New York where observing the city's party-machine helped to formulate his early ideas about politics. The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was another key point in his political development. Golash's...

Abstract Peter Redgrave talks about being born outside of London and starting to move around at the age 6, as his family travels to the United States, following his father’s hotel work. Peter’s parents separated a few years later, which creates a shift in the family dynamic. Peter’s mother works and goes to law school, while Peter and his brother get into skateboarding and building a community, through zine-making and traveling to new skating locations around the country. Peter develops his interest...

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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.

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Ms. Corado discusses growing up in El Salvador amidst the civil war, her understanding of her gender and its evolution, emigrating to D.C., living homeless in Dupont Circle, becoming an activist, and establishing Casa Ruby.

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Ms. Corado discusses her early activism and leading the group Latinos en Accion which she would turn into Casa Ruby, the early days of Casa Ruby’s first space, the growth and accomplishments since then, and the challenges and hopes for the future.

Abstract This project interviewed a group of people who were present during the 1989-1990 annual D.C. Latino Festival. It documents the first time the DC Latino immigrant community was given a permit to occupy a public space so sacred to national history- the national Mall and the Monument grounds. The project asked important research questions such as: 'why did the D.C. Latino community decide to move the parade to Constitution Avenue NW and the festival to the National Mall and what impact did that...