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52. Diana Salazar, Interview by Kerry Taylor, 13 June 2013
- Date:
- 6/13/2013
- Description:
- Diana Salazar is a Mexican American born in Homestead, Florida. Her father and grandfather worked as labor contractors, supplying immigrant workers to farmers on the Eastern Seaboard. In the interview, Salazar remembers when she was twelve and a teacher told her “do not become a statistic Mexican girl that works in the fields and gets pregnant. […] You go get your education because you’ve got it in you.” She also recalls that as a child she witnessed an immigration raid on a labor camp in Maryland. Though she knew she was not at risk of being deported, the events left a deep impression upon her. Around the age of sixteen, her parents moved to Orlando and stopped being migrant workers because they did not want this lifestyle for their children. Later, they moved to Hollywood, South Carolina where Salazar completed her high school senior year at Baptist Hill High. She returned to Orlando, Florida where married her first husband. She came back to the Lowcountry in the 1980s with her second husband and first child. Salazar tells about her extensive work experience and activism. In 2006, when massive immigrant protests were held around the country to raise awareness about the struggles of undocumented individuals and demand comprehensive immigration reform, three thousand people congregated in Marion Square in Charleston. Salazar tells she organized the march with the guidance and support of her cousin Emma Lozano, a Chicago activist, but she found no support from local politicians. Salazar is proud of her achievements, among them being the recipient of the Martin Luther King Picture Award. Descripción: Diana Salazar nació en Miami, Florida. Su padre y abuelo trabajaron como contratistas, supliendo de mano de obra de trabajadores inmigrantes a los agricultores de la costa este de Estados Unidos. En la entrevista, Salazar recuerda dos eventos que la marcaron siendo niña. El primero fue una conversación con un profesor que le dijo "no te conviertas en una estadística, otra chica mexicana que trabaja en el campo y se embaraza joven. [...] ve y edúcate". El otro suceso fue una redada de inmigración de la que fue testigo en un campo de trabajo en Maryland; a pesar de que sabía que no estaba en peligro de ser deportada quedó profundamente impactada. Cuando tenía aproximadamente dieciséis años sus padres decidieron dejar la vida migrante y se establecieron en Orlando, Florida. Más tarde se trasladaron a Hollywood, Carolina del Sur y fue allí, en la escuela Baptist Hill donde Salazar curso su último año de la preparatoria. Siendo muy joven se casó y fue a vivir Orlando con su marido. En los años ochenta regresó a Carolina del Sur con su segundo marido y su primer hijo y desde entonces ha residido en el Lowcountry. En la entrevista, Salazar cuenta sobre su amplia experiencia laboral y su activismo. En el año 2006, cuando miles de personas marcharon en distintas ciudades del país para crear conciencia sobre las luchas de los indocumentados y para exigir una reforma legislativa, alrededor de tres mil personas se congregaron en Marion Square en Charleston. Salazar explica que fue ella quien organizó la marcha, que recibió el apoyo de su prima Emma Lozano, una activista de Chicago, pero que en cambio, no encontró repuesta positiva en los políticos locales. Salazar se siente orgullosa de sus logros entre los cuales figura de haber sido elegida para recibir un premio por su trabajo en la comunidad llamado Martin Luther King Picture Award.
53. William F. Ladson, Interview by Kerry Taylor, 13 May 2009
- Date:
- 5/13/2009
- Description:
- William Ladson was born in Moultrie, GA, on October 10, 1915. He chose to enter The Citadel in 1932 but returned home after two years to help his father run the family business, which was strained due to the Depression. He eventually returned to school and graduated in 1938 with a degree in engineering. He entered the Army Reserve in 1940 as part of the Coast Artillery and, due to his background and degree in engineering, worked stateside as part of the engineer corps during WWII. Ladson recalls his decision to attend The Citadel and his experiences during WWII and the Korean War. Anxious to go overseas, he eventually went to Korea after the Korean War broke out. There he was executive officer and commanding officer of combat engineers in direct support of the frontline troops. He retired from the army in 1965, and his engineering background led him to take a job as city manager of Cocoa Beach, FL. He maintains strong ties to his alma mater, recently attending his class reunion and speaking to a class of Citadel Cadets.
54. Kim Williams Odom, Interview by Marina López, 13 Febrero, 2017
- Date:
- 2016-11-30
- Description:
- Librarian and educator Kim Williams Odom was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1970. Her family moved to the Jacksonville Military Base in North Carolina when she was in elementary school. Years later, she returned to Charleston as a single mother looking for a better life for herself and her child. She started taking her young daughter to the J.L. Dart Public Library and there she met Cynthia Graham Hurd who became her boss, her mentor, and her best friend. In the interview, Williams Odom tells about her family's deep roots in Charleston and takes pride in her relatives' achievements and contributions to the community. She remembers her struggles to overcome discrimination and succeed in a hostile school environment in North Carolina and tells about her dreams to become a cultural worker. She also talks about her extended career as a public librarian, including her role in the celebration of the J.L. Dart Public Library 85th anniversary and her experience as a manager at the St. Paul's library in Hollywood. She asserts her family's and Graham Hurd's values and ideas shaped her approach to community work. Finally, Williams Odom remembers the day her friend, along with the other eight church members, was killed at Mother Emanuel AME Church. She explains her refusal to let her friend's story to be reduced and defined by the hate and racism that took her life. Instead, she chose to honor Graham Hurd's life and legacy by keeping her work alive and committing her time and energy to several local projects that accomplished that goal. Finally, she states she is taking time to privately mourn her beloved friend.
55. Harry B. "Chip" Limehouse III, Interview by Joseph Williams, 13 April, 2021
- Date:
- 2021-04-13
- Description:
- Harry B. "Chip" Limehouse III was born in 1962 in Charleston, South Carolina. His family has a long history in politics, and he grew up attending electoral campaign events. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science at USC. In the interview, Limehouse remembers his close relationship with Senator Strom Thurmond, tells about his experiences working with him in Washington DC as a high school and college student, and states he was one of the most influential people in his political career. In 1994, he won his first election to the South Carolina House of Representatives where he served for over twenty years. Limehouse takes pride in his work as an elected official and the legislation he helped pass, particularly the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure. He talks about the Tea Party's beginnings and its impact on the Republican Party. He states he participated in the Tea Party events and supported its ideas but disagreed with its electoral strategy. Finally, Limehouse reflects on the present and future of the Republican Party.
56. Interview with James Sellers, October 13, 2023
- Date:
- 10/13/23
- Description:
- Oral history interview conducted by College of Charleston Libraries Special Collections and Archives as part of the ongoing efforts to preserve, elevate, and document the stories and history of the LGBTQ+ community in South Carolina. James Sellers (pronouns: Him/His) answers questions about his upbringing in the city of Charleston, SC, and his knowledge of Jack Dobbins, victim in the gay-related “Candlestick Murder” that occurred in Charleston on October 31, 1958. Speaking by phone from Quincy, Massachusetts, he recalls his childhood home at 101 Meeting Street, later the Anchor Bar, eventually torn down, his parents and brother and various homes where they lived. He speaks of the naivety of his group of friends, mistaking gay men cruising at the Battery for communists, the reluctance of adults to address such issues, his experiences acting as a teen with the Footlight Players, mentioning many there by name, and taking art lessons at the Gibbes Art Gallery (now the Gibbes Museum of Art). In March of 1958, through the Footlight Players, he met the 29-year-old Jack Dobbins, who showed an interest in the 18-year-old. With no experience, Sellers panicked and describes Dobbins’ respect in honoring his wishes and the care and respect Sellers received. They eventually developed a relationship, and when Dobbins was murdered a few months later, Sellers, then in army basic training in Columbia, SC (where the commanding officer was a friend of Dobbins), was shocked at how the victim was misrepresented in the press, and how his assailant, who bludgeoned him with a candlestick, presented a totally different version of Dobbins, contradicting everything Sellers knew of him. Unable to speak out against the verdict that set Dobbins’s killer free, Sellers eventually left Charleston for art school and relationships, while still designing costumes for the Charleston Ballet Theatre and a Tricentennial production, celebrating the state’s 300th anniversary. In passing, he mentions John Zeigler and Edwin Peacock of the Book Basement, Patricia and Emmett Robinson and Kit Lyons and Dorothy D’Anna of the Footlight Players, Russel Wragg, William Halsey, Corrie McCallum and others. Sellers eventually moved to Boston, became an occupational therapist, and turned down the opportunity to work at the Medical University of South Carolina due to his more advanced political and social views. He describes his family’s servants, coming out to his father and his mother as an adult, and how his recent reading a history of LGBTQ Charleston brought back the events to him, and how discussing them with the interviewer has brought him some closure and peace on the subject.
57. Interview with Jayson Gulick, September 13, 2019
- Date:
- 2019-09-13
- Description:
- Oral history interview conducted by College of Charleston Libraries Special Collections and Archives as part of the ongoing efforts to preserve, elevate, and document the stories and history of the LGBTQ+ community in South Carolina. Jayson Gulick (pronouns: He/They) speaks of the challenges and satisfactions of his growing up, discovering his gender and sexual truths, and embracing both trans masculine and androgynous identities. Born in Wheaton, IL, into a Catholic family that faced prejudice from the Protestant majority, he moved with his family to Charleston when he was in the fifth grade. Having discovered and defined himself as trans by searching out information on the internet, he delayed coming out, feeling that the move to the Lowcountry would provide an appropriate opportunity. Experiences in public school and Catholic school convinced him to delay the announcement, however; he told his family just as a friend in Catholic school was denouncing Gulick for posing as a male on social media. Accepted by his parents and one sister, and rejected by another who had become fundamentalist, Gulick was out and visible at Wando High School, getting support from some staff but not others. He describes an attempt by the school to censor a student interview on the topic, noting how he and others posted it on YouTube instead. Gulick then describes his experiences at the College of Charleston, speaking of his good fortune of having previously legally changed his name, thus not having to experience being called by his dead name, as happened to some of his peers. He describes clandestine meetings of other trans students on campus (called T-Time) and some of their unwillingness and fear to have their identities known. Noting how therapy, top surgery, and association with We Are Family have been extremely beneficial, Gulick describes his connection with androgyny, his dislike of sexual assumptions about him by others, and how affirming participation in Charleston Pride events has been. Torn between being a teacher and a guidance counselor, he has decided on the latter, to help spare others from having to undergo experiences similar to his. Since South Carolina does not offer specific gender and sexual protections, he regrets that he may have to go elsewhere to fulfill that profession. The interview ends on a positive note with Gulick commenting that people just a few years younger than he are accepting on a broad array of gender and sexuality issues.
58. Gerald Meyerson, Interview by Jack Bass, 14 November 2008
- Date:
- 11/14/2009
- Description:
- Gerald Meyerson was born in Spartanburg, SC, on December 19, 1921. After his sophomore year at The Citadel, he transferred to Duke University. While still at Duke as a first-year law school student, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and he enlisted in the Army Air Corps communications cadet program. He then returned and completed his law school exams while he waited to start the training program. As a communications officer, he later served in London and Paris. From there his unit coordinated communications with various Air Corps units in the European Theater of Operations. After the German surrender, he transferred to the Judge Advocate Generals Corps because he had attended law school. He worked there on minor cases for only a short time before returning to the United States. Meyerson reflects on his decisions both to enroll at and subsequently transfer from The Citadel. He also discusses his postwar career, initially as an attorney and subsequently as a men’s clothing merchant.
59. Cibele Bustos, Interview by Marina Lopez, 14 January 2014
- Date:
- 1/14/2014
- Description:
- Cibele Bustos was born in Mendoza, Argentina in 1993. Her parents were part of a significant group of Argentinians that left the country looking for better opportunities after the economic crisis in the late 1990s. Bustos explains, at the time, she was only eight years old and was not aware of her parents' motivations. In consequence, the whole trip to the United States was a joyful experience filled with adventure and good expectations. Her first impressions of United States were positive, and she explains that attending school without speaking English was not easy but she learned and adjusted. In the interview, Bustos tells about becoming aware she was an immigrant without papers, and what that realization meant for her. Raised in the United States, she had the same aspirations as her peers but realized her opportunities to study, work, and progress were much more limited. A window of hope opened for her, her siblings and friends when President Obama’s administration announced the implementation of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) in 2012, an immigration policy that allows certain undocumented youth to receive a work permit and exception for deportation. Bustos remembers the optimism and enthusiasm in her community, how the information was shared among families and friends and how her mother took the lead helping her and her siblings to obtain all the documents they needed to apply. Finally, she explains the advantages and limitations of DACA and the frustration she felt when realized that studying in college was still a dream very hard to achieve. Descripción: Cibele Bustos nació en Mendoza Argentina en 1993. Sus padres fueron parte de un considerable grupo de argentinos que tras la crisis económica de fines de los noventa abandonó el país en busca de mejores horizontes. Bustos explica que en ese momento ella tenía solo ocho años y que no era consciente de las motivaciones de sus padres por lo que todo el viaje a los Estados Unidos fue una experiencia feliz, llena de aventuras y buenas expectativas. Sus primeras impresiones de Estados Unidos fueron positivas y se acuerda de que el ajuste a la escuela sin hablar inglés no fue fácil, pero que encontró la manera de salir adelante. En la entrevista, Bustos cuenta como fue tomar conciencia siendo adolescente de que era una inmigrante sin papeles. Una ventana de esperanza se abrió para ella, sus hermanos y otros jóvenes en su misma situación cuando la administración del presidente Obama creó DACA (Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia) una resolución en política de inmigración que permitió que ciertos jóvenes indocumentados pudieran recibir su permiso de trabajo y ser exceptuados de deportación. Bustos recuerda la alegría y el entusiasmo que se vivieron en su comunidad, cómo se compartieron las noticias y el papel fundamental que cumplió su madre para que ella y sus hermanos pudieran conseguir la documentación que necesitaban. Finalmente explica las ventajas y limitaciones de DACA y la frustración que sintió cuando se dio cuenta de que seguir estudiando era un sueño muy difícil de alcanzar.
60. John Wright, Interview by Timothy S. Pierre, 14 April, 2021
- Date:
- 2021-04-14
- Description:
- John Wright grew up in Mt Pleasant, South Carolina. His family roots are in two African American settlement communities, Philips and Hamlin. At seventeen, he joined the US Army, and after retirement in 2013, he returned home. He reflects on coming back to a dramatically changed area and understanding the benefits and challenges development has brought to the Black communities in that area. He states that the lack of fair representation for the black communities prompted him to organize an effort to advocate single-member voting districts for the town government. Wright takes pride in demanding a change in the language to name the Black communities as settlement communities. He is one of the founder members and current president of the African American Settlement Communities Historic Commission. The commission, active since 2015, comprises seven communities represented by their respective presidents. Local, state, and federal agencies frequently consult and collaborate with the commission. Wright affirms his tenure’s brainchild is the preservation and relocation of a school built in 1904, the Long Point Road School House.
