In this episode, Rebecca Kanner, Gregory Fox, Tobi Hanna-Davies, Mary Anne Perrone, and Richard Stahler-Shulk discuss their involvement in various ICPJ projects and activities relating to central American issues over the years.

Tobi Hanna-Davies talks about her leadership and involvement in the Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament during 1980s

Gregory Fox discusses his involvement with the Latin American Solidarity Committee and in establishing a Sister City program in Nicaragua

Rebecca Kanner talks about her involvement with the Latin American Task Force and some of the activities she's helped with over the years, from clothing drives to demonstrations and lobbying.

Mary Anne Perrone talks about hunger and describes their successful 1991 protest over Tom Monaghan's efforts to raise money to build a cathedral in Nicaragua with a $500-a-plate dinner by staging a 5-cent-a-plate dinner of rice and beans.

Richard Stahler-Shulk. a Latin American scholar and Eastern Michigan University professor, talks about his dual role as an academic and activist

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Paul Edwin Wasson was born September 8, 1923, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After leaving school in the tenth grade, Mr. Wasson joined the United States Army at the beginning of World War II. In 1943, Mr. Wasson left the Army and came to Detroit. Arriving on the heels of the Detroit Riots, he decided to head west to Ypsilanti. Mr. Wasson marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s; worked at the University of Michigan Hospital for seventeen years, and is most proud of his children. He encourages all young people to get an education.

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Tessie Ola Freeman was born June 19, 1924 in Alabama and has lived in Washtenaw County since 1947. An avid lover of poetry and spectator sports, Ms. Freeman raised three children while doing domestic work and dressing hair to supplement her family’s income. Ms. Freeman is proud of her children and encouraged them to get an education, even going so far as to enroll at Wayne State University at the same time her youngest son. Ms. Freeman has always spoken for herself and she’s proud to share her story.

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Barbara Meadows was born October 1, 1933, in Albion, Michigan, and spent her childhood in Inkster, Michigan, before moving to Ann Arbor in her youth. She attended Talladega College in Alabama, followed by Smith College, where she earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work. Ms. Meadows worked in the University of Michigan Neuropsychiatric Institute and worked for several years in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. She has been a leader or founder of several community-based organizations and served on numerous boards including the University Musical Society Board, Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Washtenaw Community College, and the Peace Neighborhood Center. She was appointed to Ann Arbor’s Human Relations Committee in the 1960s.

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Johnny W. Barfield was born February 8, 1927, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. As a child he sold soap house to house and, after tenth grade, joined the U.S. Army where he served in France and Germany. After leaving the Army in 1947, Mr. Barfield became a wall washer for the University of Michigan, where hard work, entrepreneurship, and innovation helped him build the largest cleaning business in Ann Arbor. Mr. Barfield is widely recognized for his philanthropic work and support of the African American and business communities.

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Dorothy Wilson was born November 28, 1911, in Mount Vernon, New York. She grew up in New York, where she also met her husband, living for several years in Brooklyn. She became a Licensed Practical Nurse and worked at the Brooklyn State Hospital. After her husband’s death she retired and moved, in 1972, to Ypsilanti to be near her family where she became active in volunteer work for Church Women United through Brown Chapel AME Church in Ypsilanti, the Beyer Hospital Auxiliary, and the Ypsilanti Historical Society.

Compilation video from Phase Two of the Living Oral History Project, in collaboration with the Ann Arbor District Library and the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County. With Johnny Barfield, Tessie Freeman, Barbara Meadows, Paul Wasson, and Dorothy Wilson.

Compilation video from Phase One of the Living Oral History Project in collaboration with the Ann Arbor District Library and the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County. With Rosemarion Blake, Russell Calvert, Lydia Morton Willis Patterson, and Johnnie Mae Seeley.

By Laurie White

With special thanks to filmmaker Laurie White and the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History.

In this episode, John Hathaway talks about the Staebler family and some of the early businesses in Ann Arbor; John Feiner recalls his grandfather's start as a cobbler; former council member, H. C. Curry, recalls his experience in the Carpenter's Union and on the Human Rights Commission; and former city administrator, Guy Larcom, talks about city planning, historic buildings, and the importance of city improvements.

Written and produced by Steve Fenwick
Directed by Ray Lukasavitz
Exec producer: Catherine Anderson
Sponsored by the Ann Arbor Public Library, with help from the Ann Arbor Sesquicentennial Commission and the University of Michigan Speech Department.

Please take a moment to take our Living Oral History Survey and let us know what you learned.

Dr. Willis Patterson is a professor emeritus of the University of Michigan of Music and founder of the Willis Patterson Our Own Thing Chorale. Born in Ann Arbor in 1930, he attended Jones School and graduated from Ann Arbor High School. After serving in the air force, Patterson earned his bachelor’s degree and master’s of music degree from the University of Michigan. He received his doctorate from Wayne State University and was Fulbright Fellow. Patterson joined the University School of Music in 1968.