An overview of pre-war life before the Vietnam War alongside a summary of Mr. Tim Brady’s actions on the USS Hugh Purvis, DD-709, which was stationed off of the coast of North Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. Mr. Tim Brady is a Rockville, Maryland native who enlisted in the Navy right out of high school. He was stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin from 1968 until 1969. Interview conducted virtually via TheirStory.
Tim Davis is a Black artist currently living in Northern Virginia and active in the D.C. arts scene. He is originally from the Chicago area but has spent the past few decades in the D.C. area. In addition to extensive work with public arts programing, he worked for a teacher for more than thirty years. He discusses his life from childhood, experiences in school with busing, observing the Civil Rights Movement, and his career history. Finally, he reflects on the role of art in social movements and the Black Lives Matter Movement in particular. He concludes by recounting some of his experiences at the protests during summer 2020. The interview was conducted remotely through the podcasting program Zencastr without issue.
In this interview, Tricia Sturm discusses her personal history of political and social activism, her experiences as a mother, and her attendance at a student-led protest in the summer of 2020. She explains how her overlapping roles as an individual and as a mother have shaped her life and her decisions. Tricia Sturm details her hopes for the future and her reasons for taking a stand for what she believes in, not only in the summer of 2020, but throughout her life.
Karen Abbott surmises that her mother may have rendered this scene of enslaved persons escaping on the Underground Railroad by drawing from a story she was told as a child. Men, women, and children are bundled in clothes to prepare for their journey, and Karen sees prayer, joy, and fear etched on their faces and evident through their figures.
Victor Rodriguez’s interview was conducted on November 11th, 2021, using the Their Story platform. The interview starts with Victor Rodriguez discussing his experience growing up as a Mexican American, his parents’ experiences immigrating to the United States, how his heritage affected how he was treated with school, and his changing relationship with his Mexican American identity. Throughout the interview, Rodriguez talks about how having mentors who shared or understood his cultural heritage was a significant part of his journey to pursue medicine. When discussing his experiences in medical school, Rodriguez talks about the lack of diversity awareness in medical schools and his work to advocate for himself and other Latin American medical students. Rodriguez also discusses his experiences working in minority communities and his desire to combat health disparities. When talking about the effect of Covid-19 on his medical education, Rodriguez talks about how he feels he missed out on an important learning experience by not being allowed to see Covid patients. The interview concludes by returning to the discussion of health disparities in the United States and Rodriguez’s perspective on how increasing diversity within the medical field might be one of the best ways to continue combating those disparities.
Karen Abbott describes this diorama of an outdoor wedding featuring the bride, her parents, and an elaborate wedding cake. The bride is preparing to throw her bouquet as her parents rejoice.
Young Pal discusses his Japanese identity and his experience in an American school. He speaks to the importance of Chinatown for Asian American communities and describes his poster, which he painted with Japanese characters and phrases, inspired by Miu Eng's theme of migration.