Audio Producer
Madzimoyo Owusu, who grew up in the same three-story apartment building as her grandparents in Chicago’s West Side in the 1970s, remembers always feeling protected by her grandmother—even when they would just sit in silence. At StoryCorps, she opens up to her daughter, Johannah, about how her grandmother’s gentle, yet powerful, spirit left a lasting imprint on her life.
During the onset of the Soviet-Afghan war, Ajmal Achekzai and his family fled to the United States to seek asylum. More than 20 years later, Ajmal returns to the place he once called home as a United States Marine. In 2021, as the political state of Afghanistan took a turn for the worse, Ajmal came to StoryCorps to reflect on the dualities he faced as an Afghan-born U.S. Marine.
In the mid-1990s, Miss Betty Thompson retired from her job in state government, and started a second career working at the Jackson Women’s Health Organization as a counselor. By 2004, it was the only remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi. Often faced with incredibly long distances to travel, and protesters on the ground upon their arrival, Betty helped all those who walked through the doors.
Eleanor Vassili 