From Dire Straits To Friends For Life: How Living On The Road Brought Them Together

In August of 2014, Kat Valentino was living in a run-down motel with her family. They eventually decided to move into a van — a blue, 1991 Ford Econoline.

She’d soon find a community of others living out of their vehicles, mostly those impacted by the Great Recession who had foregone traditional housing, seeking a different way of life.

Along the way she met Vincent Mosemann, who became her friend and later her roommate.

Kat and Vincent came to StoryCorps to talk about what brought them together.

Top Photo: Vincent Mosemann and Kat Valentino at their StoryCorps interview in Oregon on January 26, 2019. By Dupe Oyebolu for StoryCorps.

Originally aired February 4, 2022 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Bringing Hope and a Love of Horses to L.A. Streets

Ghuan Featherstone grew up in South Central Los Angeles. He has one clear memory of riding a horse for the first time, in Griffith Park, when he was eight years old. It was a feeling that he never forgot, and a lifelong passion was born.

When Ghuan left the military and returned to L.A. years later, he began to immerse himself in the craft of riding and caring for horses. After a tragic fire destroyed his neighborhood stable, Ghuan saw a hole torn into his community. Instead of standing by, Ghuan decided to step forward to found a new stable: Urban Saddles.

Jordan Humphreys riding his horse Winter at the Urban Saddles Stables, in South Gate, California.

He came to StoryCorps with his mentee Jordan Humphreys. At just 13 years old Jordan has become a cornerstone of Urban Saddles.

Top photo: Ghuan Featherstone and Jordan Humphreys at their StoryCorps interview in Los Angeles, California on December 15th, 2021. By Maja Sazdic for StoryCorps.

Originally aired January 28th, 2022 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

You Can Fall, Just Don’t Stay There

For our last episode of the season, a story of courage; told from three different perspectives. 

We’ll first hear from Los Angeles County firefighter Derek Bart, who stepped into a StoryCorps MobileBooth in Santa Monica, CA, in early 2020. After serving 33 years in the fire department, he was considering retirement, and wanted to reflect on his career. He told his story to Facilitator Courtney Gilbert. 

Courtney & Derek at their StoryCorps interview in Santa Monica, CA. Photo by Ava Ahmadbeigi for StoryCorps.

One of the stories Derek shared took place one night in 1993, when he responded to a house fire in Santa Clarita, CA. During the blaze, he saved Myeshia Oates, who was just 8 years old at the time.

As the years passed, the memory of Myeshia never left him. And after a chance encounter with her in his local Walmart, Derek reunited with Myeshia for StoryCorps. They sat down together in 2021, almost 30 years after the fire.

Myeshia Oates and Derek Bart at their StoryCorps interview in Santa Clarita, CA on August 23, 2021.

Myeshia also sat down with her mother, Paula Smith Bull, to talk about how they were able to move forward from that night.

Myeshia Oates and Paula Smith Bull in 1988. Courtesy of Paula Smith Bull.

Top photo: Artwork by Lyne Lucien.

Released on January 25th, 2022.

He Survived The Holocaust Because Of A Stranger’s Kindness

In 1941, Philip Lazowski and his family were among thousands of Jewish people sent to the Zhetel Ghetto in what was then Poland.

One day, the Lazowski family caught wind that the Nazis were killing Jewish people in the ghetto and they decided to go into hiding. But Philip, just 11 years old, was caught alone by a German soldier after helping his parents and siblings take shelter in a hideout they’d built in their apartment.

Rounded up into the Zhetel marketplace, he saw the soldiers sending children and the elderly to their deaths, but noticed they seemed to be sparing families with adults who had jobs deemed valuable by the Nazis, like doctors, tailors or cobblers.

When he was 91 years old, Rabbi Philip Lazowski came to StoryCorps with his wife, Ruth, 86, to remember a quick decision that saved his life.

Rabbi Philip and Ruth Lazowski on their wedding day, in 1955. Credit: courtesy of the Lazowski family.

Top Photo: Rabbi Philip Lazowski and Ruth Lazowski. Credit: courtesy of the Lazowski family.

Originally aired January 21st, 2022 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Finding Where You Fit

All season long, we’ve heard from trailblazers at the top of their game in every field. In this episode, we mean that literally.

First we meet Rob Maiden, who is six feet five inches tall. When Rob was a kid, he was a little bigger than some of his classmates. Rob was also the tallest one in his family by far, and his father — a huge football enthusiast — couldn’t wait to have Rob play football. But football wasn’t really his thing. 

Rob came to StoryCorps with his friend Daniel Jacob, to talk about the dance group that changed both of their lives.

Daniel Jacob and Rob Maiden at their StoryCorps interview in Dallas, TX. Photo by Liyna Anwar for StoryCorps.

Daniel and Rob are both part of the Mavs ManiAACs, an all male hip hop dance group of, self proclaimed, beefy men who perform during Dallas Mavericks games.

Mavs ManiAACs at a Dallas Mavericks game performance.

Our next story comes from someone who also found their place on the basketball court. Yolanda Johnson grew up in Pennsylvania with her grandparents, and she spent a huge amount of time playing basketball — one of the only places where she could find solace.

When things were at their worst, Yolanda looked to the one person who could help her through it — her coach. Yolanda came to StoryCorps with her wife, LaTausha Bonner-Johsnon, to remember that time.

Yolanda and LaTausha on their wedding day in 2010. Courtesy of LaTausha.

LaTausha Bonner-Johnson and Yolanda Johnson at their StoryCorps interview in Pittsburgh, PA. By Aisha Turner for StoryCorps.

Finally, we head to a baseball field in Baltimore, MD, where there are usually two games happening at once. The one on the field, and the one in the stands. Vendors compete in the stands during the game, seeing who can sell the most snacks and beer.

One of the all-time greats is a man known as “Fancy Clancy.” As a teenager, Clarence Haskett began selling soda at Baltimore Orioles games back in 1978. Over the years, he worked his way up to the vendor’s most prized offering: beer.

Fancy Clancy at the Orioles stadium.

During his 43-year-long career, Fancy Clancy has used his speed and his immense charisma to sell more than one million beers to baseball fans. He came to StoryCorps with his friend and former coworker, Jerry Collier, to talk about their work and how he got started.

Clarence Haskett and Jerome Collier at their StoryCorps interview in Baltimore, MD. By Cristina Stanton for StoryCorps.

We also check in on how Fancy Clancy’s been since his last conversation in 2014, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected his beloved job.

Top photo: Artwork by Lyne Lucien.

Released on January 18th, 2022.

“The Black Vote Matters:” How An Army Veteran Inspired A Teenage Martin Luther King, Jr.

Warning, the following story includes a description of racial violence.

In 1945, World War II US Army veteran Maceo Snipes, returned home to Taylor County, Georgia. He voted in the county’s primary in July of 1946, and the next day, he was murdered by a white mob.

The news of Snipes’ lynching — and the killing of four other African Americans — reached a teenage Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., then studying at Morehouse College. These murders inspired King to write a letter to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

A teenage Dr. King’s letter to the editor of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. MLK was a Morehouse College student inspired to speak out following Maceo Snipes’ lynching. Courtesy of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Raynita Snipes Johnson, Maceo Snipes’ great niece, only recently learned of her uncle’s story when she campaigned for Black voting rights in the 2016 presidential election.

Raynita Snipes Johnson at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The church was a destination for Martin Luther King, Jr. following a KKK bombing that killed four Black children in 1963. Photo courtesy of Raynita Snipes Johnson.

She sat down with her friend, Gene Robinson, to talk about her uncle’s contribution to the Civil Rights Movement.

Gene Robinson and Raynita Snipes Johnson at their StoryCorps Virtual recording on August 29, 2020.

Find out more about the effort to honor Maceo Snipes’ life at The Maceo Snipes 1946 Project.

Top Photo: United States Army veteran Maceo Snipes. He served in World War II, and was murdered shortly after returning home from service. Photo courtesy of Raynita Snipes Johnson.

This story was recorded in collaboration with the PBS series FRONTLINE as part of Un(re)solved— a major initiative documenting the federal effort to investigate more than 150 cold case murders dating back to the civil rights era. More such stories can be explored in an interactive documentary at Un(re)solved.

Originally aired January 14th, 2022 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

We Go Up Together Or We Go Down Together

Starting in February 1968, cries of protest rang out in the city of Memphis as sanitation workers, who were dealing with unsafe working conditions and making unlivable wages, went on strike.

A few months later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. traveled to Tennessee to join the sanitation workers. It was there that he delivered his famous “I Have Been To The Mountaintop” speech, where he made an impassioned call for economic justice in the United States. 

This was the last speech Dr. King ever gave; he was shot and killed the following day — April 4, 1968 — on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

On this episode of the StoryCorps podcast, we revisit those last hours of Dr. King’s life, and remember his legacy, through the experiences of some people who were there at the time. 

First, we hear from Taylor Rogers and Elmore Nickleberry, two men who were sanitation workers in Memphis during the 1960s. They came to StoryCorps — Mr. Rogers in 2005 and Mr. Nickleberry in 2007 — to remember how Dr. King’s words and leadership impacted the movement.

Photo: Elmore Nickleberry at his StoryCorps interview in Memphis, TN. 2007. By Steven Thrasher for StoryCorps. 

Taylor, who came to StoryCorps with his wife Bessie Rogers, also spent some time remembering what it was like to be in the audience at Mason Temple when Dr. King gave his final speech. 

Photo: Taylor and Bessie Rogers at their StoryCorps interview in Memphis, TN, 2005. Photo by Nick Yulman for StoryCorps. 

Elmore Nickleberry continued to be a sanitation worker for the city of Memphis for over 60 years. He retired in 2019 but made history as the longest-serving city worker. Mr. Nickleberry was one of 14 surviving strikers to receive a $50,000 retirement grant from the city of Memphis. Taylor Rogers had already passed away — he died in 2011, and his wife, Bessie, died in 2017.

And finally, we hear from Memphis-native Clara Jean Ester. Clara was a 20-year old college student during the sanitation strike, and was struck by the energy that it brought to the city. Inspired by the leaders of the Civil Rights movement, and the stories of disenfranchised Black workers, she made the decision to join every march, every picket, and every protest. Like Bessie and Taylor Rogers, Clara was there for Dr. King’s “I’ve Been To The Mountaintop” speech. She was also at the Lorraine Motel the following day when Dr. King was assassinated. 

Photo: Clara Jean Ester. Courtesy of Clara Jean Ester

The strike ended soon after his death — but more than 50 years later, Dr. King’s life and words remain relevant; a man who despite the reality of the time, continued to believe that change was possible.

Top photo: Artwork by Lyne Lucien. 

The license for use of Martin Luther King Jr’s speech has been granted by intellectual properties management of Atlanta, Georgia as exclusive licensor of the King estate.

Released on January 11, 2022.

StoryCorps on “60 Minutes”

We hope you were able to tune into “60 Minutes” on Sunday, January 9, 2022. StoryCorps—a nonprofit dedicated to recording, preserving, and sharing the stories of Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs—was honored to be the subject of a feature on the premier newsmagazine program. But, if you missed it, you’re in luck–we’ve included it below. You can also watch StoryCorps on “60 Minutes” Overtime here.

Watch the full “60 Minutes” segment here.

The segment, hosted by correspondent Norah O’Donnell, profiles the growth of StoryCorps from its inception in 2003, when founder and award-winning journalist Dave Isay established a single recording booth in Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal, to today. As of 2021, more than 600,000 Americans have participated in a StoryCorps interview, preserving a piece of personal history in the archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and contributing to the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered. 

Norah interviews a number of people associated with the organization, including Dave, Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden, and award-winning author and former StoryCorps facilitator Jason Reynolds. “60 Minutes” also visited StoryCorps’ headquarters in Brooklyn, where they filmed Dave leading an advisory meeting and a StoryCorps facilitator training, among other activities.

The feature also spotlights one of StoryCorps’ more recent and ambitious projects, One Small Step. Piloted in 2018, One Small Step brings people with different political views together to record a 50-minute conversation with each other about their lives, not politics and to date, more than 2,000 people in 40 cities have participated. 

One Small Step is anchored in four U.S. cities, with an aim to connect people and reinforce the notion that we have much more in common than what divides us. StoryCorps gave “60 Minutes” unprecedented access to One Small Step conversations as they unfolded in Richmond, Virginia this fall and they also caught up with Dave in Charlottesville, Virginia, as he gave a speech at a kick-off event for the organization’s partnership with the UVA Democracy Initiative.

One Small Step is made possible by the generous support of The Hearthland Foundation, the Fetzer Institute, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Charles Koch Institute.

How A Shared Language Helped Two Young People Find Their Voice

In 2006, Luis Paulino immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic. He was a child and didn’t speak any English, so he struggled during his first year in school.

Four years later — then a senior in high school — he’d meet Angel Gonzalez, who reminded him of his younger self. Angel was also a transfer student from the Dominican Republic, and he was facing challenges that Luis could understand.

Angel Gonzalez and Luis Paulino, in New York, after Luis’s high school graduation in 2011. Courtesy of Angel Gonzalez.

They came to StoryCorps to remember that time, and how they got through it together.

Originally aired January 7th, 2022 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Introducing Our New CEO: Sandra M. Clark

StoryCorps is delighted to welcome Sandra M. Clark, who will join the organization as our new CEO in mid-February 2022. Sandra has built a distinguished career in media and currently serves as vice president for news and civic dialogue at WHYY, the main PBS and NPR affiliate in the Philadelphia area where she manages all news operations across radio, TV, web, and digital media. At WHYY, Sandra led the newsroom’s audience growth and diversification strategies, community engagement initiatives, and managed local news partnerships and funding opportunities. During her five-year tenure, she also led the station’s diversity, cultural competency, community engagement, and trust-building efforts. 

As StoryCorps’ second-ever CEO, Sandra—together with Founder and President Dave Isay—will lead all aspects of the organization. Dave said, “Sandra’s vast experience, extraordinary leadership, strong moral core, and deep understanding of our nation and its media and social landscape make her the perfect person to serve as StoryCorps’ next CEO. I can’t wait to work alongside her in the evolution of this organization.” The search was conducted by Ann Blinkhorn of Blinkhorn, a firm that specializes in identifying and attracting transformative leaders.

A Pulitzer Prize

Prior to WHYY, Sandra served as managing editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer where, among other accomplishments, she implemented two of the paper’s most successful reader engagement initiatives and led the paper to a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2014. In 1983, she began her career at the Inquirer and served in various roles there over the years.

Sandra is a long-time advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equity and last year was named one of The Philadelphia Tribune’s Most Influential African American Leaders. She also serves on a number of boards, including the News Leaders Association and the advisory board for the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication.

Shining a Light

Having grown up in a military family, with an African-American father from Louisiana and a Japanese mother, one of Sandra’s greatest joys is cooking—what she calls a “treasured inheritance” of history and food for the soul from her rich multicultural upbringing. 

Sandra has always loved hearing the stories of everyday people and learning new places and cultures, having lived in Kansas, Louisiana, Japan, West and Southern Africa, and now Philadelphia, and traveled to many more places. She says one of her most “humbling and life-altering experiences” was as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Her two-year assignment was on an island with no running water or electricity, but what was most memorable were people with “an abundance of ingenuity and incredible generosity, and so much more to teach me than I could leave them.”

Throughout her life and career, this fundamental belief in the potential of every person has led Sandra to shine a light on those within organizations and the larger communities in which we live, who have much to contribute but are too often unseen and unheard. StoryCorps’ core belief in the power of people’s stories is what attracted her to the organization.

She remarked, “StoryCorps is a national treasure with unlimited potential to grow and reach more diverse audiences…we are living through unprecedented times and StoryCorps is well positioned to help heal the divisions by reminding us all of the power of empathy and our shared humanity.” 

She added, “I am not a crier–never have been. But I confess, StoryCorps [stories] get me every time.”