Elmore Nickleberry and Taylor Rogers

Elmore Nickleberry and Taylor Rogers remember why they went on strike as Memphis sanitation workers in 1968.

Top photo: Elmore Nickleberry

Bottom photo: Taylor Rogers

George Turks and Charita Johnson-Burgess

Reverend George Turks, Jr. tells churchgoer Charita Johnson-Burgess (pictured above at left) about witnessing the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike as a teenager.

Ella Annette Owens and Lynn Reed

Ella Owens tells her daughter, Lynn Reed, about participating in a march during the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike.

Herbert J. Kneeland

Herb Kneeland (L) tells his son Martavius Jones about being a disc jockey at WDIA in Memphis on April 4, 1968.

Kathy Dean Evans

Kathy Dean Evans remembers the night Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

Rahsheed and Rhonetta McKenstry

Rahsheed McKenstry, 10, interviews his mother, Rhonetta, asking questions about her childhood, his father, and what type man she believes he will one day become.

Originally aired April 25, 2008, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Joe and Trudy Hunter

Joe recalls meeting Trudy, a Raelette, while working at a concert in Detroit. He fell for her instantly, but it wasn’t until several years later, when Joe became Ray Charles’s road manager, that he got to make his move. They eventually married in 1994.

The couple now lives in Memphis, Tenn. Joe Hunter became a minister in 2003 and serves as a school mentor. Trudy Hunter teaches vocal music at Stax Music Academy. The two are currently raising their 10-year-old nephew, Andrew.

Originally aired on February 12, 2008, on NPR’s News & Notes.

Hector Black

In 2001, Hector Black’s daughter, Patricia Ann Nuckles, was murdered after she surprised an intruder in her Atlanta home. Her attacker was hiding in a closet, and when he asked her for sex, she told him he would have to kill her first. He then murdered her.

After learning more about the killer’s life, Hector and his wife went to the district attorney’s office and asked that prosecutors not pursue the death penalty. At StoryCorps he remembers his daughter and discusses how he came to make that request.

Originally aired February 8, 2008, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Photo of Patricia courtesy of Hector Black.