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Our Stories, Our Lives: Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services (GLASS) Oral History Project

Our Stories, Our Lives: Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services (GLASS) Oral History Project

Descriptive Summary

Title: Our Stories, Our Lives: Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services (GLASS) Oral History Project
Creator: Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services
Inclusive Dates: June-December 2018
Language(s): English
Extent: 17 interview(s)
Collection Number: RBRL451GLASS
Repository: Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies

Collection Description

Scope and Content

Our Stories, Our Lives is a collection of stories gathered by the Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services (GLASS) to preserve and document a more complete history of the disability experience, specifically that of people with print disabilities who are living in Georgia. This is an oral history project that works to both preserve and document the varying experiences of those with print disabilities through the stories of people who have lived/are living with a print disability, including visual impairment, physical impairment, blindness, or an organic reading disability such as dyslexia.


Administrative Information

Historical note

Interviews were recorded by GLASS members and donated to the Russell Library with corresponding transcripts. Interviewers for the project include Stephanie Irvin, Kamesha Bradham, Carol Waggoner-Angleton, Catherine Vanstone, and Georgina Lewis.

Copyright Information

Resources may be used under the guidelines described by the U.S. Copyright Office in Section 107, Title 17, United States Code (Fair use). Parties interested in production or commercial use of the resources should contact the Russell Library for a fee schedule.

Processing Information

Transfer media for this collection include 44.1 kHz Wave audio files.

Finding Aid Publication

Finding aid prepared on: November 2018.


Related Materials and Subjects

Subject Terms

Georgia -- History, Local.
Oral histories.
People with disabilities -- History.
People with disabilities -- Services for.

Related Collections in this Repository

Georgia Disability History Archive

Georgia Disability Community Oral History Project


Series Descriptions and Folder Listing

 

GLASS-001 Stuart Levenson

1 sound_recording(s) 31 minutes
Stuart Levenson was born and educated in Savannah, Georgia. He attended Armstrong College before working for the Social Security Administration for 36 years. Levenson talks about growing up visually impaired, emphasizing the changing role of assistive technology in his life.
GLASS-001 Stuart Levenson audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-001 Stuart Levenson transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-002 Vashaun Jones

1 sound_recording(s) 29 minutes
Vashaun Jones was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. He describes being blind or visually impaired throughout his life. He talks about his career, emphasizing the importance of failure to achieving success.
GLASS-002 Vashaun Jones audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-002 Vashaun Jones transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-003 Rita Harris

1 sound_recording(s) 28 minutes
Rita Harris was born in Good Hope, Georgia. She worked in the school system assisting children with disabilities before she became visually impaired due to retinitis pigmentosa. Harris describes adjusting to life as a visually impaired person. A self-professed "adrenaline junkie", she has travelled extensively and gone bungee jumping and ziplining. Harris also talks about starting a support group, Living Life Team, for people who are visually impaired or blind.
GLASS-003 Rita Harris audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-003 Rita Harris transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-004 Empish Thomas

1 sound_recording(s) 16 minutes
Empish Thomas grew up sighted before losing her vision after college to uveitis, a condition that causes inflammation in the back of the eye near the retina. Thomas describes navigating the workforce while blind, discussing her careers in human relations and freelance journalism.
GLASS-004 Empish Thomas audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-004 Empish Thomas transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-005 Jarrett McNutt

1 sound_recording(s) 24 minutes
Jarrett McNutt served in the army during World War II before becoming a minister and working for the Clinical Pastoral Care Organization. He talks about his family history and his career as a minister.
GLASS-005 Jarrett McNutt audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-005 Jarrett McNutt transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-006 Bridgette Suttle

1 sound_recording(s) 8 minutes
Bridgette Suttle was born in New Jersey, but she grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She became legally blind as an adult due to complications from type 2 diabetes. Suttle describes managing her diabetes, having to have her foot amputated due diabetes, and becoming blind.
GLASS-006 Bridgette Suttle audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-006 Bridgette Suttle transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-007 John McCarty

1 sound_recording(s) 9 minutes
John McCarty is an autistic, non-reliable speaker with impaired vision. In this interview, Joan McCarty reads her son, John McCarty's, account of his struggle with communication before learning the Rapid Prompting Method (RPM), which enabled him to become involved in his community.
GLASS-007 John McCarty audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-007 John McCarty transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-008 Chris Vandeford

1 sound_recording(s) 24 minutes
Chris Vandeford became blind as an adult due to diabetic retinopathy. He talks about losing his vision, going through vocational rehabilitation, and becoming involved in his community, both through his work at the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency and the National Federation of the Blind.
GLASS-008 Chris Vandeford audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-008 Chris Vandeford transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-009 Brian Mosely

1 sound_recording(s) 14 minutes
Brian Mosely became blind, lost his sense of smell, and got epilepsy in an accident as an adult. Mosely describes how assistive technology has helped him retain his independence, mentioning the use of the Job Access With Speech (JAWS) screen reader program.
GLASS-009 Brian Mosely audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-009 Brian Mosely transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-010 Candace Rogers

1 sound_recording(s) 30 minutes
Candace Rogers was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) which caused her to become legally blind and have issues with mobility. Rogers describes fighting for disability benefits, purchasing a house, and encouraging others people who have MS.
GLASS-010 Candace Rogers audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-010 Candace Rogers transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-011 Daryl Rootledge

1 sound_recording(s) 22 minutes
Daryl Rootledge is a vocational rehabilitation therapist and minister. He was born with aniridia, an illness that impacts the development of the eye during birth. Rootledge describes navigating the educational system and raising his daughter as a visually impaired person, emphasizing the importance of his Christian faith in his life.
GLASS-011 Daryl Rootledge audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-011 Daryl Rootledge transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-012 Anna Trotman

1 sound_recording(s) 7 minutes
Anna Trotman was born in Montgomery, Alabama and experienced numerous health problems as a child that caused her to become visually impaired. In this interview, Trotman talks about her education and career as a braille instructor at various organizations, including the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind and the Center for the Visually Impaired (CVI) in Atlanta.
GLASS-012 Anna Trotman audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-012 Anna Trotman transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-013 Alina Garcia Ravelo

1 sound_recording(s) 16 minutes
Alina Garcia Ravelo was born in Cuba and attended the University of Havana, graduating with a degree in industrial engineering. She eventually moved to the U.S. and currently lives in Bainbridge, Georgia, where she works at Georgia Industries for the Blind (GIB) as an industrial engineer. In this interview, Ravelo talks about the challenges she faced growing up as a visually impaired person in Cuba, explaining the lack of public services available for those with visual impairments there.
GLASS-013 Alina Garcia Ravelo audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-013 Alina Garcia Ravelo transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-014 Gaylon Tootle

1 sound_recording(s) 22 minutes
Gaylon Tootle was born in Georgia and attended the Georgia Academy for the Blind, before attending the University of Georgia. After graduation, he worked for the U.S. Army at Fort Stewart and the Moody Air Force Base. Presently, Tootle works at the Center for Independent Living in Augusta. In this interview, Tootle talks about some of the challenges he faced throughout life due to his visual impairment. Tootle talks about the ways in which his family helped him gain independence and how assistive technology aids him in his everyday life. Tootle explains the importance of his self-acceptance when dealing with his disability.
GLASS-014 Gaylon Tootle audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-014 Gaylon Tootle transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-015 Luis Narimatsu

1 sound_recording(s) 26 minutes
Luis Narimatsu was born in the Panama Canal Zone. He began losing his vision in college as a symptom of glaucoma. After his diagnosis, Narimatsu eventually found work in the 94th Signal Company as a telephone operator. Afterward, Naritmatsu moved to Bainbridge Georgia to work in Georgia Industries for the Blind (GIB), where he is presently the Services Director. In this interview, Narimatsu talks about the challenges he faced after his initial glaucoma diagnosis, the change of career paths as a result of losing his sight, and learning to use computers with his disability, eventually working in a role with (GIB) where he teaches others. Narimatsu talks about how his visual impairment has enhanced his life and career satisfaction in that it allows him to help people with similar disabilities.
GLASS-015 Luis Narimatsu audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-015 Luis Narimatsu transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-016 Robert Woodward

1 sound_recording(s) 23 minutes
Robert Woodward grew up in Decatur County, Georgia. He worked in a variety of jobs, including as an ambulance inspector, food services inspector, and as an employee of Georgia Industries for the Blind (GIB). After retirement, Woordward opened his own animal rehabilitation farm called Woody's Gophers, and he also serves on the board of directors for the Humane Society. Woodward talks about his career and the impact that his partial blindness has had throughout his life. He talks about the ways in which he managed to cope with his disability by using assistive technology, such as large print text books and talking books.
GLASS-016 Robert Woodward audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-016 Robert Woodward transcript Access Online
 

GLASS-017 Cornelius Butler

1 sound_recording(s) 16 minutes
Cornelius Butler was born in Dawsonville, Georgia and currently lives in Bainbridge, Georgia. At a young age, Butler was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, which has caused progressive loss in sight throughout his life and will result in eventual blindness. Butler relates his educational experience in relation to his disability. He also explains how assistive technology has enabled him to pursue learning, a career as a computer coder and CEO of an internet marketing company, and various hobbies.
GLASS-017 Cornelius Butler audio and interview index in OHMS Access Online
GLASS-017 Cornelius Butler transcript Access Online