Five Years Later, Two Ferguson Protestors Reflect on the Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photo that Captured their Anguish — and Connection
Five years ago, when news of Michael Brown Jr.’s police shooting death spread, two strangers made their way to the Ferguson Police Department to protest. A local photographer, Robert Cohen, captured the moment.
In the photo, a young African American man’s face is twisted in anguish, tears streaming down his cheeks. Next to him, an older woman extends her hand to his shoulder in comfort.
The photo would go on the win the Pulitzer Prize, along with 18 other photos taken by photographers with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Earlier this summer, those two strangers, Jamell Spann and Elizabeth Vega, came to StoryCorps to remember that pivotal moment, and the friendship that grew out of it.
Top photo: Jamell Spann and Elizabeth Vega are photographed on Monday, August 11, 2014 as police officers in riot gear clear demonstrators from the area surrounding the Ferguson Police Department. Hundreds had arrived to protest the police shooting of Michael Brown Jr. AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Robert Cohen
Bottom photo: Elizabeth Vega and Jamell Spann at their StoryCorps interview in St. Louis, Missouri on June 27, 2019. By Dupe Oyebolu for StoryCorps.
Originally aired on August 9, 2019 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Korean War POW Shares What It Was Like to Be Reported Dead — and What Happened When He Came Home Two Years Later
Ninety-year-old Walter Dixon, of Waynesville, Missouri, is a veteran of three wars. He joined the Army at age 16 to serve during World War II. He came back from that war and got married, just before shipping off to join the Army’s 38th Infantry in Korea.
While there, he was declared dead on the battlefield — only to return home alive two years later.
He came to StoryCorps with his son, Russ Dixon, to share his story.
There’s a little bit more to the story.
When Walter was declared dead in Korea, a woman named Aldine May Fenton wrote his obituary for the local paper.
He ended up marrying her after his return. They had three children, including Russ Dixon.
Walter retired from the military in 1971, 26 years after first signing up.
Top photo: Walter Dixon and Russ Dixon at their StoryCorps interview in Waynesville, Missouri on June 26, 2019. By Dupe Oyebolu for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Walter Dixon poses with newspaper clippings and photos detailing his experience as a POW. By Dupe Oyebolu for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: A copy of Walter Dixon’s obituary, which was posted after he was presumed dead during the Korean War, and a newspaper article declaring his return. Courtesy Russ Dixon.
Bottom photo: Walter Dixon poses with his second wife, Aldine Dixon, and his death certificate after returning from Korea, where he was held prisoner of war for more than two years. Courtesy Russ Dixon.
Originally aired July 27, 2019 on NPR’s Weekend Edition.
A Woman Providing Life-Saving Aid at the Mexico-Arizona Border Shares Her Story
Maria Ochoa is a 70-year-old grandmother who has walked the Arizona desert well over 100 times providing water and aid to migrants who have crossed the border from Mexico. The humanitarian aid she and other Tucson Samaritans provide is legal, as long as they don’t transport migrants or venture onto private land.
She came to StoryCorps in Tucson with her friend and fellow volunteer, Alma Schlor, to share her connection to the work.
This summer, Maria will have been doing this work with the Tucson Samaritans for seventeen years. She was one of the founders of the organization in 2002.
Top photo: Maria Ochoa poses by the Arizona/Mexico border wall, south of Tucson, Arizona. By Camila Kerwin for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Alma Schlor and Maria Ochoa at their StoryCorps interview in Tucson, Arizona on April 20, 2016. By Camila Kerwin for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Maria Ochoa walks one of the trails she monitors with the Tucson Samaritans. By Camila Kerwin for StoryCorps.
Originally aired June 21, 2019 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
For a Father’s Last Meal, the Main Ingredient Is Love
Juan Reyes grew up in a small town in Mexico and immigrated to the United States in the 1940s. He eventually settled in Texas, where he raised his two daughters, Estela and Candi Reyes.
In Juan’s later years, his struggle with diabetes intensified, and he became more sick. At StoryCorps in El Paso, Estela and Candi remembered caring for him in his final days.
Top Photo: Candi and Estela Reyes at their StoryCorps interview in El Paso, Texas in 2012. By Anaid Reyes for StoryCorps.
Bottom Photo: Juan Reyes in the early 1970s. Courtesy of the Reyes family.
Originally aired June 14th, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Remembering a Gay Icon in Mother Bryant
Alexei Romanoff is a Ukrainian immigrant who grew up as an only child in New York City. As a kid in the 1950s, Alexei knew he was gay — but it wasn’t something he spoke about openly.
Now 82 years old, Alexei came to StoryCorps with his husband, David Farah, to remember the person who taught him to be proud of who he is.
We’re sharing this story as part of Stonewall OutLoud, our national effort to look back on life before the Stonewall riots in 1969, and to ask people to use the StoryCorps App to help preserve the stories of LGBTQ elders before they’re lost to history.
Photo: David Farah (L) and Alexei Romanoff (R) at their StoryCorps interview in Los Angeles, California in June 2015. By Jill Glaser for StoryCorps.
Originally aired June 7th, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Walking in a Mother’s Legacy
Sada Jackson lost her mother, Ileana Watson, to breast cancer in 2016. Just after saying goodbye to her own mother, Sada became a mother herself.
Years later, Sada was still longing for all the moments they’d never get to share — and thinking about all the questions she never got to ask. So she sat down at StoryCorps in Kansas City, Missouri with her mom’s best friend, Angela Morehead-Mugita, to get to know her mom a little better.
Top photo: Sada Jackson (right) at StoryCorps in Kansas City, MO in 2018 with her late-mother’s best friend, Angela Morehead-Mugita. By Savannah Winchester for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Sada Jackson with her mother, Ilena Watson, in October 2014. Courtesy of Sada Jackson.
Bottom photo: Sada Jackson with her son, Kendrix, in November 2018. By Bria Siglar.
Originally aired May 10, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
‘We Were Lucky’: Kids of Holocaust Survivors Learned Their Parents’ Life Philosophy
Abe and Esther Schuster grew up children of Holocaust survivors. Their father, Judel, lost his parents and sister in the Sarny ghetto. Pauline, their mother, lost her entire family — they were murdered during the Nazi occupation of Uman, then part of the Soviet Union.
Pauline and Judel met in Stalingrad and married there in 1945, shortly before they entered a displaced persons camp in Italy. Four years later, they left Europe and arrived by boat in New York to begin a new life.
At StoryCorps, Abe and Esther sat down to remember their parents’ philosophy of life. And as Abe’s high school math teacher would learn, that didn’t always mean following the rules.
Top photo: Pauline and Judel Schuster on their wedding day in Stalingrad, April 1945. Courtesy of Esther and Abe Schuster.
Middle photo: Abe and Esther Schuster for StoryCorps in Birmingham, AL in February 2019. Photo by Jacqueline Van Meter.
Originally aired May 3, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Visit to the ER Takes an Unexpected Turn
When Ellen Hughes’ son Walker tried a new medication, it was supposed to help him calm down. It wound up doing the opposite.
Thirty-three year old Walker became agitated and violent. Walker has autism and struggled to communicate what was going on. But his mom Ellen knew they had to get to a hospital.
When they arrived at Loyola University Medical Center near Chicago, Walker bit Ellen. That’s when they encountered Public Safety Sergeant Keith Miller. At StoryCorps, Ellen told Keith how he helped her son — and herself — get the care they needed that day.
Top photo: Keith Miller and Ellen Hughes at the Chicago StoryBooth in February 2019. Photo by Rocio Santos for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Walker Hughes with his mom Ellen Hughes. Courtesy of Ellen Hughes.
Originally aired April 12, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Their Love for Each Other Grew into a Love for their Community
In 1997, Sharon Adams felt a call. After 30 years away from her hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she moved back into the house where she grew up. As Sharon was fixing up her family home, she needed an electrician. That’s when she met her now-husband, Larry Adams.
They’ve since completed several projects around the house, but the couple’s biggest undertaking came when they turned to the area outside of their home.
Inspired by Sharon’s memories of her once close-knit community, they established Walnut Way, a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing their neighborhood.In the two decades since, they’ve built and restored more than 100 homes and transformed over 20 lots into gardens and orchards.
At StoryCorps, they remembered how as their relationship grew, so did their involvement in the community.
Top Photo: Sharon and Larry Adams in the house where their nonprofit, Walnut Way, is based. Photo by Adam Carr.
Bottom Photo: Sharon and Larry Adams in front of their peach trees. Photo by Sara Stathas.
Originally aired February 15, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
How a Family Guitar Found its Way Home
When StoryCorps rolled into Laramie, Wyoming, Rodger McDaniel came into the Mobile Booth to remember his father.
His dad, Johnny McDaniel, worked over the years as a miner and milk truck driver, married and divorced Rodger’s mother three times—and he loved music.
Rodger remembers his beautiful singing and his shiny, black guitar.
After getting his dad’s guitar back, he tried to learn how to play without much success. It sat in his closet for years—until he got a guitar player for a son-in-law. They came together for a conversation on the StoryCorps Podcast.
Rodger went on to spend much of his career working in the field of alcohol and drug addiction.
Top photo: Johnny McDaniel, Rodger McDaniel’s father, when he was about 18 years old in Sweetwater, Texas. Photo courtesy of Rodger McDaniel.
Middle photo: Rodger McDaniel at his StoryCorps interview in Laramie, WY. Photo by Rachel Falcone for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Rodger McDaniel and his son-in-law Josh Jacobsen in Denver, Colorado, with Johnny’s guitar.
Originally aired February 1, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.