Barbra O.
This interview is with Barbra O., a master’s student in Milan, Italy who was born in Nigeria and grew up in Texas. She details navigating life as an immigrant child and the experiences that shaped her perception of community and self. She describes cultural connections, such as memories of food and family. Barbra compares her experiences in Texas with her life now in Italy.
Chas Moore
This interview is with Chas Moore, founder of the Austin Justice Coalition and anti-racist activist in Austin, TX. Chas shares his story of exposure to deaths and incarceration at a young age and how those traumas shaped his beliefs and drive as an organizer. He talks about being directly exposed to overt racism for the first time in Austin and getting heavily involved in the city’s anti-racism organizing movement. Chas shares how the work of influential Black thinkers and activists as well as his faith have guided his activism. He also discusses challenges like funding, his goals for long-term change, and his hopes for a happier and more peaceful human experience.
Content Warning: The following interview contains sensitive material. Please note that the interview includes discussion of anti-Black racial slurs. These subjects will be discussed at 6:15-7:20 (in the transcript p. 2).
Daryl Horton
This interview is with Daryl Horton, a minister at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Daryl discusses helping students sustain their faith and community through the pandemic and transitioning his congregation to church in this time. He talks about his experience working with Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT) and his involvement in the interfaith space in Austin. Daryl also shares his story as a native Austinite and his perspective as a Black pastor on the growing inequality in the city.
Latifah Hameen
This interview is with Latifah Hameen, a life/relationship coach and domestic violence awareness advocate in Sachse, TX. Latifah describes her education and family life growing up Catholic in Milwaukee, WI. She talks about her conversion to Islam at twenty-one, her family’s acceptance of the change, and the ways in which Islam influences her morality and actions. She discusses her activism in domestic violence awareness, which includes several published books and life and relationship coaching. Latifah also tells of her life as an educator, including the years of teaching and tutoring she has done with Muslim youth.
Ora Houston
This interview is with Ora Houston, a long-time civil servant and former city council member in Austin, TX. Ora describes the influences of her early life, like her mother’s social work, her education, experiencing Jim Crow segregation, and her exposure to and choice of religion. She talks about her involvement in the Episcopal church as a lay leader and how her religious convictions influence her work to uplift the voices of underrepresented people. She discusses her years of civil service and her four-year term in the Austin city council representing District One.
Saleem Shabazz
This interview is with Saleem Shabazz, a retired postal worker and Air Force veteran living in Longview, TX. Saleem tells about his childhood, describing his family dynamics, the places he lived, and being Baptist in his youth. He talks about travel and work in the Air Force and being exposed to different cultures and beliefs. Saleem discusses converting to Islam and his experience of the hajj. He also talks about his engagement with his Muslim communities over the years, including being and imam for a time, and his observations on social and political change in the US.