StoryCorps Atlanta

In 2001, Ivory Coast native Gnimbin Albert Ouattara came to the U.S. on a prestigious Fulbright scholarship to study history.  At Georgia State, advisors suggested his first name would be hard to pronounce, and so they made his middle name, Albert, his first name on school records. Then 9-11 happened, and the simple name-change ended up complicating Gnimbin’s life more than anyone had predicted. 

StoryCorps Atlanta comes to you in partnership with the Atlanta History Center.  

  At a time when many people think about retiring, Bert Adams started thinking about hiking the entire Appalachian trail, a trail going more than 2,000 miles that starts in Georgia and ending in Maine. Usually it takes about five or six months of hiking every day to complete the trail and only about a quarter of hikers who start the trail finish it. At StoryCorps, Bert Adams explained the appeal … and what happened next.

 Julie Cardwell spent a few years thinking there was a chance she’d never have kids. That was 25 years ago.

She brought her son McLaren, now 21, to StoryCorps to tell him the story of his unlikely beginnings.

 StoryCorps Atlanta comes to you in partnership with the Atlanta History Center.  

As a child in the 1940s, Sirretha Joy grew up on a family farm in rural Mississippi.

Her father died when she was young, and so at age seven she began cooking, cleaning, and caring for her five younger siblings.

At StoryCorps, she told her daughter Felicia Joy about her ambitions to get off the farm, and what came of them. 

Kendall Brown grew up as an African-American female. It was an identity and a body that never felt right, and which caused uncomfortable scrutiny.

Since 2011, Kendall’s been taking hormones and undergoing surgeries to transition completely to male. He described his experience to his friend, A.J. Jones.   

This story was recorded with Lambda Legal Project’s “Trans Tell Your Story” Project. StoryCorps Atlanta comes to you in partnership with the Atlanta History Center.  

John Seay is a lawyer and musician, but talking in front of other people hasn’t always been easy for him. He’s one of millions of people with a speech impediment.

These days, not everyone picks up on it, including his wife, Jennifer Teems. 

StoryCorps Atlanta comes to you in partnership with the Atlanta History Center.  

Ana Maria Martinez was raised in Colombia with her mom and extended family, as well as a maid. She was content there. 

But then her mom fell in love with an American man, and Ana Maria found herself in a new country at the age of 12. She told the story of her arrival to the U.S. to her husband, Mario Martinez.

This conversation was recorded in partnership with Georgia Hispanic Bar Association and the Atlanta History Center.    

Pat Hussain is a longtime advocate for gay rights, but her journey to become a face of social change hasn’t always been easy. At StoryCorps, friend and fellow activist Pam McMichael began by asking Hussain a question.

A warning: Some of the language in this story may not be appropriate for all listeners.

StoryCorps Atlanta comes to you in partnership with the Atlanta History Center.