21. Diana Salazar Guzmán, Interview by Christian Merida, 11 March, 2021
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22. Nick Rubin, Interview by Jason Pack, 15 April, 2021
- Date:
- 2021-04-15
- Description:
- This interview with Nick Rubin focuses on his political work with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). An organizer in leftist spaces for most of his adult life, Rubin got engaged with Charleston DSA in 2017. The organization became an official chapter in 2018 and was incorporated as a non-profit 501(c) 4 in 2021. Rubin reflects on the challenges and opportunities involved with forming the chapter. He talks about the many issues Charleston DSA members have been part of included the end of the 287(g) agreement between the Charleston Sheriff Office and ICE, the campaign for Medicaid for All, and the Bernie Sanders campaign. He states Charleston DSA members are active on many issues including environmental, housing, and labor rights among others. He is optimistic about the organization's potential to continue growing in South Carolina.
23. Oral History Interview with Edward Jones
- Date:
- 2021-06-30
- Description:
- Interview with Edward (Ed) Jones, an Eastside community advocate and city employee. As a leader, coach, and lifetime resident of the Eastside, Jones has helped shape the Eastside's youth and community for much of his life. He describes his childhood experiences moving to various locations in the Eastside and his working experience as an all-around sports coach, general contractor, mentor, organizer, and, currently, a community resource specialist for the City of Charleston. Jones never saw himself serving the community for as long as and in the manner that he does today, but after nearly three decades of work and a lifetime of experiences, he's continued to show up. He touches on the inequities and changes he's seen within his locale, including those in the public housing realm, recreation, and issues of policing and safety. In addition to his day-time job, Coach Jones is also the founder of the Concerned Citizens of the Peninsula/Lowcountry, or CCPLC, a grassroots organization with the intention of helping kids and communities in the Eastside and greater Charleston area. Jones makes it clear that all he does and wants to do is inspired by his own experiences, especially those growing up and living within the Eastside. He has a vision of a healthy and vibrant community that supports itself, works together, and offers all children the same opportunities regardless of family, race, or class.
24. Oral History Interview with Marcus McDonald
- Date:
- 2021-07-06
- Description:
- Interview with Marcus McDonald, who is the activist leader of Charleston Black Lives Matter and a local substitute teacher. He shares his experience moving from Columbia to Charleston for college as a young, black male. He learned the power words and communication hold at a young age, as both of his parents were deaf and he would often have to speak up for them. Mr. McDonald gives insight on how racial tensions shaped his education at the College of Charleston and how these circumstances led to his passion for advocacy and equity. He details the roadblocks to equity, as well as the ways he has used his personal power to help community members surmount them. In a seminal period of Charleston's history, Mr. McDonald hopes to see the various centers of the Eastside prosper, and cautions the rapid gentrification of the area.
25. Joshua Parks, Interview by Mills Pennebaker, 18 April, 2021
- Date:
- 2021-04-18
- Description:
- Joshua Parks was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. He attended Howard University in Washington, DC and worked at the Sankofa Bookstore owned by filmmakers Haile Gerina and Shirikiana Aina Gerina. While in college, he was the chair of the NAACP college chapter and engaged in community organizing with Pan-African Community Action (PACA). His traveles to Cuba, Haiti, and South Africa contributed significantly to his political education. After graduation, he returned to Florida and worked as a teacher for two years. In 2019, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina to attend graduate school. He became involved in local organizing and was one of the founding members of the Lowcountry Action Committee. He reflects about the work Lowcountry Action Committee had done in collaboration with Eastside Community Development Corporation focusing on mutual aid, food distribution, and education. The Lowcountry Action Committee is also among the founding organization of the People's Budget Coalition and frequently partners with the Center for Heirs Property in educational programs for community members affected by development and gentrification.
26. Juan Fernando Soto, Interview by JonahTrimnal, 30 March, 2021
- Date:
- 2021-03-30
- Description:
- Fernando Soto was born in 1984 in San Pedro de las Colonias, Coahuila, Mexico. When he was seven years old, his family immigrated to the United States. Soto remembers growing up on Johns Island, South Carolina, and reflects on how this small rural community has changed over time. He attended Spring Hill College in Alabama and earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Soto talks about his decision to follow this professional path and states his family background informs his interest and passion for the field. He asserts he is not an activist but a journalist reporting on issues relevant to the Latino community. He talks about the Charleston Immigrant Coalition (CIC), explaining its beginnings and the issues it championed, particularly the end of the 287(g) program in Charleston County. Soto addresses the impact of COVID 19 in the Latino community and the disparities in access to care, stressing these same Latinos who are ignored by the government are the essential workers that keep the city alive and thriving. Finally, he reflects on the multilayered and complex scenarios Latinos face when they decide to leave home and cross the border.
27. Oral History Interview with Eduardo Curry II
- Date:
- 2021-07-12
- Description:
- Interview with Eduardo (Ed) Curry, who lives in the Eastside neighborhood and is the Central Manager of the St. Julian Devine Community Center. As a third-generation Charlestonian, Mr. Curry reflects on his roots in Charleston. He details how his passion for education and criminal justice was largely shaped by the experiences of his father, an attorney and former police officer. Mr. Curry gives an in-depth overview of his work at the St. Julian Devine, a central hub within the Eastside community, where he has facilitated after-school and summer care programs, coordinated enrichment programs for adults, and expanded educational opportunities for the children he serves. In the near future, Mr. Curry wants to transform St. Julian Devine to a cultural arts center. He expresses that he wants to empower the people of his community through education to ensure that their roots are emboldened in Charleston. Mr. Curry offers his perspective on diversity, as his family is multi-racial, and wants to ensure that children of all backgrounds are offered the same chances to express themselves through his community center.
28. George Hopkins, Interview by Patrick Duggan, 24 March, 2021
- Date:
- 2021-03-24
- Description:
- George Hopkins was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1947. He is a College of Charleston professor emeritus. This interview focuses on his family background, his anti-war activism, and his academic career. Hopkins’ parents were WWII veterans. The family resided in mostly suburban, white Republican areas. He worked in a steel mill and attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. These life experiences expanded and changed his worldview. In his college years, Hopkins participated in the anti-Vietnam War movement and declared himself a conscientious objector. His activism continued in graduate school at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he studied urban and labor history. There, Hopkins and other students supported the work of Fort Bragg’s GIs that opposed the war. In 1976, he moved to Charleston with a one-year contract that became a thirty-two-year teaching career. Hopkins talks about his teaching and his research and writing. Some of the works he focuses on are his dissertation on Miners for Democracy; his essay on Charleston and the metropolitan military complex included in Martial Metropolis, edited by Roger W. Lotchin, an article about historians’ interpretations of the Vietnam War, and others focused on pop culture.
29. George Hopkins, Interview by Patrick Duggan, 1 April, 2021
- Date:
- 2021-04-01
- Description:
- George Hopkins was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1947. He is a College of Charleston professor emeritus. This interview focuses on George Hopkins' long commitment to social justice and labor rights in Charleston. Initially, Hopkins' activism was mostly related to the College of Charleston and focused on racial issues and academic freedom. By the end of the seventies, he got involved with Carolina Alliance for Fair Employment (CAFE). Since then, he has been a member and has served as president of the organization. He remembers significant labor-related events such as the closing of the Navy Base in the nineties and the longshoremen protest in January 2000 that ended with the five men known as "The Charleston Five" arrested and charged with felonies. He also reflects on the crucial role the ILA 1422 and CAFE - now Charleston Alliance for Fair Employment - have played for Charleston's intersectional organizing and coalition development. Finally, Hopkins talks about his participation in other social justice endeavors in Charleston, such as the Quality Education Project and the Charleston Area Justice Ministry.
30. Kayla Gilchrist, Interview by Hannah Cowan Jones, 15 April, 2021
- Date:
- 2021-04-15
- Description:
- Kayla Gilchrist was born in 1988 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Minnesota. After graduating from high school, she moved to Spain to attend the Universidad de San Luis to study Spanish and international relations. During her junior year, she lived in Cairo, Egypt. After graduation, she remained in Spain for another year and a half and then returned to the United States to attend graduate school at The Monterey Institute of International Studies in California. She graduated with a MA in International Policy Studies with a focus on conflict resolution and community development and a MA in Translation-Interpretation. Right after, she moved to Charleston, South Carolina to join Charleston Area Justice Ministry (CAJM) as an associate organizer. Gilchrist reflects on the life events that shaped her interest in organizing people and communities for social justice, including her experiences with school disparities as a child and living overseas. She describes her work with CAJM and Midland's Organized Response for Equity and Justice (MORE Justice). In 2020, she moved to Washington, D.C. and joined National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).