North Carolina Archives - Page 2 of 4 - StoryCorps

William Lynn Weaver

In 1964, Dr. William Lynn Weaver was one of 14 black teens who integrated West High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. At StoryCorps, he spoke about his experiences in the classroom and how difficult it was for him to get a quality education there.

Dr. Weaver also integrated the school’s all-white football team, along with other black players, including his older brother, Stanley. Here, he talks about what it was like to play for the West High School Rebels.

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Dr. William Lynn Weaver died in May 2019.

Originally aired September 29, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Top photo: Dr. William Lynn Weaver as a member of the West High School Rebels during his senior year in 1967. From the 1967 West High School Yearbook.
Bottom photo: Dr. William Lynn Weaver at his StoryCorps interview in Fayetteville, North Carolina. 

William Lynn Weaver

You may recall the voice of Dr. William Lynn Weaver from a StoryCorps interview he did back in 2007, where he talked about his father, Ted Weaver — the most important man in his life.

He later came back to StoryCorps to remember someone else who had a huge influence on him: his 7th grade science teacher, Mr. Edward O. Hill.

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In the fall of 1964, Weaver was 14 years old and about to start his sophomore year of high school in Knoxville, Tennessee, when, along with 13 other black students, he integrated previously all-white West High School.

At StoryCorps, he talks about what happened on his first day at West High.

Originally aired August 25, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Bottom photo: Mr. Edward O. Hill, who taught Dr. Weaver in junior high school. Photo courtesy of Rogers Memorial Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Dr. Weaver went on to become a surgeon, most recently working as Chief of Surgery at the Fayetteville, North Carolina VA Medical Center.

Lou Olivera and Joe Serna

In 2013, Green Beret Sergeant Joe Serna retired from the Army after more than 18 years of service that included three tours of duty in Afghanistan and numerous awards including two Purple Hearts. Returning to North Carolina to be with his wife and children, he found adjusting to civilian life difficult.

oliveraextraIn 2014, following a DWI arrest, Joe’s case was assigned to the Cumberland County Veterans Treatment Court. After a probation violation, District Court Judge Lou Olivera (above left), an Army veteran who served during the Gulf War, sentenced Joe to a night in jail.

Joe was with three other soldiers in Afghanistan in 2008 when their armored truck flipped over and landed in a river. It quickly filled with water and Joe was the only survivor. Knowing Joe’s history and how difficult it would be for him to spend an evening confined, Judge Olivera decided to spend the night with Joe in his jail cell.

At StoryCorps, they reflect upon the night they spent together, the difficult memories that being sentenced brought back, and the relationship they have formed since.

Originally aired October 14, 2016, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Above photo courtesy of Joe Serna.

Melva Washington Toomer and John Washington

John Washington was born blind and with a severe loss of hearing that has become more extreme over time. Just before he turned 30, he met his future wife, Fannie Ruth, who was also blind and deaf. In 1950 they got married, and remained together for 55 years having three children together—Melva, Warren, and Canady—before Fannie Ruth passed away in 2005.

John & Ruth WashingtonJohn, who did not finish high school, began reading books in braille “to learn the ways of life,” and went on to teach others to read braille as well. He spent years working as a massage therapist, and in 1952, in what he considers one of his proudest achievements, he helped found the first braille magazine in the United States focused solely on issues important to the African American community—The Negro Braille Magazine.

Now 95 years old, John recently recorded a StoryCorps interview with his eldest child, Melva Washington Toomer (pictured in the player above), using a TeleBraille machine, a device that requires Melva to type her questions on a keyboard which are then translated to a braille touchpad for her father to read.

At StoryCorps, he shared some of his favorite stories about raising his children, and asked his daughter an important question about what she plans to do with him as he continues to move closer to being 100 years old.

Besides using a TeleBraille machine, John also speaks with others through fingerspelling–a method of communication where words are spelled out directly into his hand by another person using the American Sign Language alphabet. (Watch the above video to see John and Melva fingerspell.)

Originally aired August 19, 2016, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Above: John and Fannie Ruth Washington at the Durham, North Carolina, YMCA in the mid-1970s where were he worked as a massage therapist. Photo courtesy of Melva Washington Toomer.

Jeff Dupre and David Phillips

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In September 1975, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Leonard Matlovich was featured on the cover of Time magazine under the headline, “I Am a Homosexual.”

It was the first time an openly gay man appeared on the cover of a national news magazine.

In March of that year, Matlovich—who served three tours in Vietnam and received both a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart—delivered a letter to his commanding officer stating that he was gay and that he intended to continue his military career. Read it here.

Leonard Matlovitch was challenging the military ban on gay service members.

Soon after the issue of Time hit newsstands, Matlovich was discharged from the Air Force for his admission. For the next five years, the decorated veteran fought his dismissal in Federal court and was eventually reinstated. While he never returned to active duty, he did receive a monetary settlement from the military that included back pay.

Tech. Sgt. Leonard Matlovich died on June 22, 1988.

Jeff Dupre (above left) knew Leonard Matlovich in the 1970s. He came to StoryCorps with his husband, David Phillips, to record Jeff’s memories of the man who started the legal battle for military acceptance of LGBTQ people.

Originally aired October 30, 2015, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

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Grave photo courtesy of leonardmatlovich.com.
Letter courtesy of Leonard Matlovich Papers, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Historical Society.

Mussarut Jabeen and Yusor Abu-Salha

In May 2014, Yusor Abu-Salha (right)–one of the victims of the February 10, 2015 shooting in Chapel Hill, North Carolina–recorded a StoryCorps interview with Mussarut Jabeen (left), who was her third-grade teacher.

In fact, all three of the victims–Yusor, her husband, Deah Barakat, and her sister, Razan Abu-Salha–attended Jabeen’s school.

Mussarut Jabeen returned recently to talk about Yusor’s death.

Originally aired February 13, 2015, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Willie Davis and Yelitza Castro

Yelitza Castro (right) is an undocumented immigrant who works as a housekeeper in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since 2010, she has also been cooking meals for homeless men and women in her community.

Through this work she met Willie Davis (left), who has been the recipient of many of those meals.

At StoryCorps, Yelitza and Willie talk about the beginnings of their friendship.

Originally aired December 20, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

David Wright and Eddie Lanier Jr.

Eddie Lanier Jr. (above right) met David Wright (above left) while panhandling on a highway exit ramp. Eddie was homeless and fighting to stay sober. The two men became friends, and in 2006 David interviewed Eddie at a StoryCorps booth in Durham, North Carolina.

Click here to listen to their first interview.

In 2014, StoryCorps returned to Durham. Eddie and David, who then lived together, came back for a second interview. At the time, Eddie was suffering from a very advanced stage of emphysema and didn’t have long to live. At StoryCorps, he spoke about the end of his life.

Eddie passed away five months after his second StoryCorps interview.

Click here to watch “The Road Home,” the StoryCorps animation of Eddie and David’s story.

Originally aired May 9, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Ernest Greene and Collin Smith

Twenty-three-year-old Collin Smith (right) grew up in Asheboro, North Carolina. When he was a sophomore in high school, he was in a car accident that left him quadriplegic.

Ernest Greene (left), who is 72, attended the same church as Collin’s family, and though he’d never met Collin, he decided he wanted to help.

He offered to do whatever Collin needed, from taking him to school to helping him shave. And when Collin began college, Ernest went too.

They came to StoryCorps to remember that time.

Originally aired April 11, 2014, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday

Talana, Willie and Felicia Banks

Nine-year-old Talana Banks, and her older brother, Willie, are Army children.

In 2005, their mother, Chief Warrant Officer Felicia Banks, deployed to Iraq and had to leave them behind, in care of their grandmother.

When they sat down for StoryCorps, Talana, Willie and Felicia looked back on that year.

Originally broadcast March 9, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.