To Build the Life She Wanted for Her Son, She Left Behind an Addiction
For Irene Montoya, becoming a mother in 2009 was a long held dream come true. At the time, she was years into a methamphetamine addiction and had never held a job for very long. She knew she’d have to make some big changes to her life.
Irene Montoya and Gianni Booth in her truck in Cheyenne, WY in 2021. Courtesy of Irene Montoya.
After getting clean during her pregnancy, Irene relapsed while Gianni was still a toddler. As a single parent, she struggled to make enough money for a decent place to live. At one point, Irene and Gianni found themselves sleeping in their car.
After a decade clean and sober, their lives look very different. Irene started her own company, Sunflower Trucking, and Gianni is attending a private high school. They came to StoryCorps in Cheyenne, Wyoming to talk about their family’s hard times and the turning point in their lives.
Irene Montoya with her custom-built dump truck in Cheyenne, WY on June 16, 2024. By Zanna McKay for StoryCorps.
Top Photo: Gianni Booth and Irene Montoya at their StoryCorps interview in Cheyenne, WY on June 16, 2024. By Zanna McKay for StoryCorps.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired August 2, 2024 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Sixty Years Later: The Children Of Freedom Summer Look Back
In 1964, civil rights groups organized Freedom Schools: summer programs for kids across the state of Mississippi.
Freedom School class at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, students on the church steps with their teacher.
More than 2,500 children attended 41 schools. Classes ranged from literature and math to theater and crafts. But the central focus was government and civic engagement.
Ethel Murrell (L) Stokes and Theresia Clark (C) at Priest Creek Missionary Baptist Church Freedom School in Palmers Crossing with their teacher volunteer Sandra Adickes (R).
Many of the teachers were white college students who had traveled from across the country to participate.
Folksinger Julius Lester singing for Freedom School students on the steps of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Hattiesburg. Glenda Funchess standing (second from left).
Hattiesburg, Mississippi had six schools – more than any other town.
The Clark sisters at a church during Freedom Summer in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 1964.
This was one piece of a larger program called “Freedom Summer.” More than 700 volunteers, from across the country came to Mississippi to register Black voters en masse and fight discrimination at the polls.
Donald Denard (Center) with two other students outside Morning Star Baptist Church.
Sixty years later, Freedom School students Deborah Carr, Stephanie Hoze, Theresia Clark-Banks, Julia Clark-Ward, Glenda Funchess, and Donald Denard came to StoryCorps to reflect on their memories of that summer.
Top Photo: Clockwise Left to right: Stephanie Hoze, Donald Denard, Glenda Funchess, Julia Clark-Ward, Theresia Clark-Banks, and Deborah Carr at their StoryCorps interview in Hattiesburg, MS on March 10th and 11th, 2024. By Tamekia Jackson for StoryCorps.
Archival photos courtesy of Herbert Randall Freedom Summer Photographs, Special Collections in McCain Library and Archives, The University Southern Mississippi. Copyright Herbert Randall.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired July, 26, 2024, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
“I Was Born In A Refugee Camp.” Two Sisters Reflect On Struggle And Survival
Sisters Mai Lo Lee and Beth Lo grew up in a large Hmong family on a ginseng farm in Wisconsin. But their story dates back to the American War in Vietnam.
Originally from Laos, the Lo family fled persecution after the country fell to communist forces in the mid 1970s. The new regime declared the Hmong people enemies of the state, as they’d fought alongside the U.S. against the communist government.
The Lo family in the Ban Vinai Holding Center, Thailand, in 1980. Photo courtesy of Mai Lo Lee.
The Lo family crossed the Mekong River, which borders Laos and Thailand, and spent years in the Ban Vinai Holding Center—a refugee camp in Thailand. In 1980, six months after Mai was born, they immigrated to the U.S. and resettled in Wisconsin, where the parents found work as ginseng farmers.
Beth and Mai Lo with their father, Sai Vue Lo, in Wausau, WI, circa 2018. Photo courtesy of Mai Lo Lee.
At StoryCorps, the sisters reflected on their family’s struggles and survival, their Hmong heritage, and how a rice steamer became a family legend.
Top Photo: Beth Lo and Mai Lo Lee at their StoryCorps interview in Appleton, WI on August 20, 2023. By Delilah Righter for StoryCorps.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired June 21, 2024, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Father And Daughter Reflect On Shared Wisdom And ‘Cool Genes’
Yusuf Ali has spent his adult life working hard to be a father and a provider. Long before family life he was known as “Joe Cool,” respected by friends and colleagues for his boundless style.
Yusuf Ali, his son Noble and Attayah Ali Milton in the late 1980s. Photo courtesy of Attayah Ali Milton.
Yusuf and his family moved from town to town as he followed work selling office furniture. No matter where they lived, he was always imparting life lessons and wisdom to everyone he mentored, including his two children, Attayah and Noble.
Noble Ali, Yusuf Ali, Attayah Ali Milton and her children, November 2019. Photo courtesy of Attayah Ali Milton.
Yusuf came to StoryCorps with his daughter Attayah to record some of their memories and share a few laughs in celebration of Yusuf’s 70th birthday.
Top Photo: Attayah Ali Milton and Yusuf Ali at their StoryCorps interview in Philadelphia, PA on June 3, 2019. By Ava Ahmadbeigi for StoryCorps.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired May 24, 2024, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
After Years in Foster Care, Two Sisters Found Home at the Morenos
Eight-year-old Linda Garcia entered the foster care system with her infant sister, Irene Montoya, after their mother was hospitalized for tuberculosis in 1953. Linda protected her sister from a series of neglectful families over the next few years, but they were malnourished when their social worker brought them to the home of Joe and Belen Moreno.
Joe Moreno, Belen Moreno, and Irene Montoya in Yuma, Arizona in 1964. Courtesy of Irene Montoya.
An older couple, they took in the girls—who would come to call them Nino and Nina. At StoryCorps, Linda and Irene remembered the people who gave them the love and care they had been missing.
Top Photo: Linda Garcia and Irene Montoya at their StoryCorps interview in Yuma, Arizona on December 4, 2019. By Lea Zikmund for StoryCorps.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired May 17, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Daughter Reflects on What Philadelphia’s Chinatown Meant to Her Mother.
In the 1960’s Deborah Wei’s parent’s left China for the United States and eventually settled in the suburbs of Philadelphia. . At StoryCorps, Deborah talks with her daughter Kaia Chau about how her mother navigated making a home, and what Philadelphia’s Chinatown meant to the family.
Deborah Wei’s mother with strawberries she grew in Philadelphia in 1981. Courtesy of Deborah Wei.
Top Photo: Deborah Wei with her mother and sister in Philadelphia in 1959. Courtesy of Deborah Wei.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired April 19, 2024, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
How A Baseball Coach Became ‘Like Family’
Ed Holley and Kanard Lewis first met on a baseball field in 2010. Ed was coaching youth baseball in New York City, and Kanard was a 14 year old third baseman.
After working with Ed, Kanard started to gain confidence, even hitting his first home run. Then, one day, Kanard’s single mom had a health scare, and asked Ed to become her son’s legal guardian should something happen to her.
Kanard Lewis and Ed Holley at Kanard’s graduation from Alfred University in Queens, New York on June 14, 2023. Courtesy of Danette Torres.
More than a decade later, Ed and Kanard sat down for StoryCorps to talk about their relationship.
Top Photo: Kanard Lewis and Ed Holley at their StoryCorps interview in New York City on May 7, 2023. By Isabella Gonzalez for StoryCorps.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired March 22, 2024 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Remembering Rafael Cancel Miranda: “A True Puerto Rican, From Head To Toe”
On March 1st, 1954, Rafael Cancel Miranda, alongside three other Puerto Rican Nationalists, opened fire in the U.S. House of Representatives, calling for the island’s independence, and injuring five congressmen before being arrested.
Puerto Rican Nationalists moments after opening fire in the House of Representatives on March 1, 1954. From left to right: Lolita Lebrón, Rafael Cancel Miranda and Andrés Figueroa Cordero. Photo courtesy of the Cancel Vázquez family.
The other three Nationalists were Lolita Lebrón, Irvin Flores Rodríguez and Andrés Figueroa Cordero. They stormed the Capitol in the hopes of bringing attention to Puerto Rico’s political status, which they believed was tantamount to an occupied colony.
Puerto Rican Nationalists (seated) with their attorneys (standing). From left to right: Rafael Cancel Miranda, Irving Flores, Lolita Lebrón, and Andrés Figueroa Cordero, soon after the March 1, 1954 attack. Photo courtesy of the Cancel Vázquez family.
No one was killed, but the three men were sentenced to more than 75 years each, while Lebrón was sentenced to 50 years. Each served 25 years before President Jimmy Carter, alleging “humane considerations” commuted their sentences in 1979.
Rafael Cancel Miranda died in 2020, and was the last surviving member of the group.
At StoryCorps, Cancel Miranda’s wife, María de los Ángeles Vázquez and their son, Rafael Cancel Vázquez reflected on his legacy.
Rafael Cancel Miranda on a 7-hour furlough from prison to attend his father’s funeral in Puerto Rico, in August 1977. Photo courtesy of the Cancel Vázquez family.
Top Photo: María de los Ángeles Vázquez and Rafael Cancel Vázquez at their StoryCorps interview in San Juan, Puerto Rico on February 3, 2024. By Von Diaz for StoryCorps.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired March 1, 2024, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
From Gaza To Mars: When Flying In Space Is Easier Than Going Home
Loay Elbasyouni grew up in Gaza City. He was always tinkering with electronics, and found he had a knack for fixing machines.
Loay Elbasyouni, (center) with two friends, in the city of Beit Hanoun, at age of 13. Photo courtesy of Loay Elbasyouni.
As a young man he left his family to attend college in the United States. Despite his longing to return, Loay followed his path, eventually working as an engineer on a NASA mission to Mars.
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, taken at “Airfield D” by the Perseverance rover on June 15, 2021, on the 114th Martian day of the mission. Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Loay interviewed his brother Heissam, who lives in Germany, using StoryCorps Connect to talk about the joy of making history in space, and the desire to return to his homeland.
Top Photo: Loay Elbasyouni with NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter in 2021. Photo courtesy of Loay Elbasyouni.
This story is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
“It’s Like This Invisible Golden Lasso.” A Son Reflects on Coming Out, and His Mother’s Love
Corey Harvard has dedicated his life to advocating for LGBTQ+ youth in Mobile, Alabama through his organization Prism United.
He was raised in Mobile, and grew up in a deeply religious home. But in middle school, he realized he was queer, and struggled to come out to his parents.
Corey and Lisa Harvard at a skating rink in Columbus, Ohio in 1996. By Benjamin Harvard, courtesy of Corey Harvard.
Above all he worried it would change how much they loved him. But it didn’t. At StoryCorps, Corey sat down with his mother, Lisa Harvard, to reflect on that time.
Lisa and Corey Harvard out to dinner together in Mobile, Alabama on May 3rd, 2016. By Jennifer Clark-Grainger, courtesy of Corey Harvard.
Top Photo: Corey and Lisa Harvard at their StoryCorps interview in Mobile, Alabama on October 29, 2023. By Chapin Montague for StoryCorps.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired January 26, 2024, on NPR’s Morning Edition.