The Cherokee Nation's first woman chief revitalized her tribe's culture as she implemented a host of influential progressive policies. But first she had to overcome sexism, say her descendants.
Jeanine Menze was discouraged from pursuing her dream to fly planes when she didn't see any women of color in the field. Then she met La'Shanda Holmes. "When I met you, I saw myself," Menze told her.
The late Jerry Lawson helped invent the first video game console with interchangeable games. His children say he brought the fun and games home and showed them they could create their own path.
Ajmal Achekzai remembers the war in Afghanistan, which brought him back to his birthplace of Kabul. Now that the war is over, he says, "I feel like I failed the Afghan people."
As the U.S. pulls its troops out of Afghanistan, family members of Nathan Chapman remember the decorated veteran, who was killed in action at age 31 on Jan. 4, 2002.
Brooklynites Danny, an OTB clerk, and Annie, a nurse, began chronicling their life together in the early days of StoryCorps — from their first date to Danny's final days with terminal cancer.
Many people come to StoryCorps to honor someone they love. For Libby Stroik, that person was her grandfather, Harry Golomski, who helped her find joy and happiness in the little things.
A turbulent Cuba halted Mario García's childhood acting career when he fled to the U.S. Still, he hasn't lost hope. At StoryCorps, he and his grandson, Max, dream up their ideal movie roles.
Master Sgt. Alvy Powell Jr. sang opera at some of country's most decorated institutions during his 26 years in the U.S. Army Chorus. At StoryCorps, he told his sister that she's his inspiration.
Greg Klatkiewicz and Gary "Zooks" Bezucha have been friends since 1972. At StoryCorps, the pair talk about how their bond has carried them through good times and bad.
As an inmate at Rikers Island, Cas Torres dug graves for the bodies of the unclaimed and unidentified people on New York City's Hart Island, one of the largest cemeteries in the U.S.
In the 1960s, Wally Funk participated in a project intended to pave the way for female astronauts. It got canceled, but she will soon join the crew of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' suborbital rocket.
To help New Yorkers get through a dark time, Jo and Chad Vill brought a DJ set into the street of their Brooklyn neighborhood. "The next thing you know, we had a street full of people," Jo said.
At StoryCorps, the Rev. Farrell Duncombe remembered those who nurtured him — like Rosa Parks, his former Sunday school teacher, who joked once that as a kid, "I ain't think you was gonna be nothing."
Two sisters talk about the killing of their father, Willie Edwards Jr., by Klansmen in 1957. "You destroyed our hopes and our dreams and our love, but you didn't remove the man," says Malinda Edwards.
