A Mother’s Fears as Her Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Expires
In 2000, Maria Rivas immigrated from El Salvador to the United States. A year later, Rivas received Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to stay and work legally in the U.S.
TPS is set to expire for people from El Salvador in September of 2019. But if Rivas is forced to leave the U.S., she won’t risk taking her American-born children with her — and her 15-year-old daughter Emily will stay behind to live with close family friends.
She sat down at StoryCorps with Emily to talk about their uncertain future, together or apart.
Top photo: Maria Rivas and her daughter Emily at their StoryCorps interview in December 2018. By Mia Warren for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Maria Rivas and her daughter Emily in 2007, when Emily was four years old. Courtesy of Maria Rivas.
Originally aired January 11, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
My Father, the Giant
“He could swear with the best of them — it sounded like music.”
Thompson Williams & Kiamichi-tet Williams
Caught in a thoughtless act of cruelty, a young man learns a lesson in compassion from his father, a larger-than-life tribal leader of the Caddo Nation and a veteran of World War II. Years later, the man passes that lesson down to his own son.
Thompson Williams was growing up in Oklahoma as one of eight children during the period he describes, when his father Melford captured his imagination and set his moral compass. Thompson came to StoryCorps with his own son, Kiamichi-tet. “My Father the Giant” brings their conversation to life.
Listen to Thompson and Kiamichi-tet’s original StoryCorps interview.
Para subtítulos en español, haga click en el ícono de YouTube en la esquina derecha, y escoja “Spanish” bajo la opción de “settings” y “subtitles/CC.
A Certain Kind of Love
“This was the time that Lauree and I were going to have. And it didn’t happen.”
Glenda Elliott
The difficulties faced by same-sex couples have created far too many stories of unrequited love. Glenda Elliott’s story is one of them. She came to StoryCorps to remember Lauree, the woman she fell in love with in small-town Georgia, at a time when it was difficult to imagine an acceptable path apart from marrying a man and starting a family.
Though she and Lauree planned for a late-in-life reunion, fate interfered. In “A Certain Kind of Love,” Glenda remembers the power of their bond.
Listen to Glenda Elliott’s original StoryCorps interview.
Para subtítulos en español, haga click en el ícono de YouTube en la esquina derecha, y escoja “Spanish” bajo la opción de “settings” y “subtitles/CC.
Mi Abuela Panchita
“Son, haven’t you learned that it is a privilege to die?”
Bishop Ricardo Ramirez
Panchita Espitia was a formidable woman, not afraid of rattlesnakes underfoot on the Texas ranches of her youth or of death itself. Her grandson, Bishop Ricardo Ramirez, learned this near the end of her life, when he realized some spiritual lessons can only be passed down by our elders.
Bishop Ramirez came to StoryCorps to remember his abuelita.
Listen to Bishop Ricardo Ramirez’s original StoryCorps interview.
Para subtítulos en español, haga click en el ícono de YouTube en la esquina derecha, y escoja “Spanish” bajo la opción de “settings” y “subtitles/CC.
Lessons Learned
“That’s the ignorance of youth, and the wisdom of age.”
DR. WILLIAM LYNN WEAVER
From the first roll call of the 1964 school year, William Lynn Weaver was targeted by white teachers at the Tennessee high school he and thirteen other black students integrated.
A few weeks later, Weaver, a former high achiever, brought home a failing report card. What happened next still moves him: the intervention of an educator from his past who became the unseen hand shaping all his future success.
The animated short “Lessons Learned” brings to life Dr. Lynn Weaver’s original StoryCorps interview, available here.
Dr. William Lynn Weaver died in May 2019.
Para subtítulos en español, haga click en el ícono de YouTube en la esquina derecha, y escoja “Spanish” bajo la opción de “settings” y “subtitles/CC.
The Temple of Knowledge
“My father was the keeper of the temple of knowledge.”
Ronald Clark & Jamilah Clark
For avid readers, or even the avidly curious, spending a night in a library would be a dream come true. Growing up, Ronald Clark spent every night in one. That’s because his father worked as custodian of a Washington Heights branch of the New York Public Library.
In those days, many custodians lived with their families there on library property, in exchange for keeping it clean and maintained, and secure at night. That gave a young Ronald first-hand access to two things: The pride his father took in polishing the library to a gleam, and to the books themselves, right at his fingertips.
Ronald came to StoryCorps with his daughter, Jamilah, to remember how his father’s work and the family’s lifestyle shaped the scholarly man he would become.
Para subtítulos en español, haga click en el ícono de YouTube en la esquina derecha, y escoja “Spanish” bajo la opción de “settings” y “subtitles/CC.
Tom’s War
After being drafted in 1969, Tom Geerdes served as an Army medic in the 11th Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and Cambodia. Like many veterans, he returned home a changed man. At StoryCorps, Tom shared his long journey toward healing with his daughter, Hannah Campbell.
Click here to listen to Tom and Hannah’s original StoryCorps interview.
Para subtítulos en español, haga click en el ícono de YouTube en la esquina derecha, y escoja “Spanish” bajo la opción de “settings” y “subtitles/CC.”
Facundo the Great
Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez was raised in a small farming community in southern California in the 1950s. As was common practice at that time, teachers at his local elementary school anglicized the Mexican American students’ names. Here, Chunky remembers a new classmate who proved to be the exception to the rule.
The Bookmobile
Growing up in the 1960s, Storm Reyes lived and worked in migrant labor camps across Washington state. When she was 8 years old, she began working full-time picking fruit for under a dollar an hour.
At StoryCorps, Storm shared stories of her difficult childhood with her son, Jeremy Hagquist, and remembers the day a bookmobile unexpectedly arrived, opening up new worlds and bringing hope.
Click here to listen to Storm and Jeremy’s original StoryCorps interview.
Para subtítulos en español, haga click en el ícono de YouTube en la esquina derecha, y escoja “Spanish” bajo la opción de “settings” y “subtitles/CC.”
This interview came from a partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Every year, StoryCorps records with all ten IMLS National Medal winners, including Pierce County Library in Washington State, where Storm and Jeremy recorded.
Chloe Longfellow
When Chloe Longfellow was 3 years old, her father died, forcing Chloe’s mother to take on a variety of jobs to support her family. Chloe began spending a lot of time at her grandparents’ home, becoming especially close with her grandmother, Doris Louise Rolison.
Chloe, 32, came to StoryCorps to remember her grandmother and the life lessons she learned from her while they cooked together in Doris’ kitchen.
Chloe’s story is one in a series of real-life stories presented by StoryCorps and Upworthy reminding us #WhoWeAre—everyday Americans speaking to our best selves.
Listen to Chloe’s original StoryCorps interview.