Guide to Women's Oral Histories at the Russell Library: Disability Community and Activism

These collections include oral histories highlighting the lives and work of members of the disability community. Our Stories, Our Lives focuses on women with print disabilities. The Georgia Disability Community project focuses on advocacy and action women have done for the disability community in the wake of the passage of the Americans with Disability Act, passed 25 years ago. 

Rita Harris during her interview

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 though the stories of people who have lived/are living with print disability, including visual impairment, physical impairment, blindness, or an organic reading disability such as dyslexia.

These oral histories are part of a larger collection, which can be found here. 

Rita Harris 

Empish Thomas

Bridgette Suttle

Candance Rogers 

Anna Trotman 

Alina Garcia Ravelo 

The Georgia Disability Community Oral History Project began in 2015 when the Richard B. Russell Library organized the Georgia Disability History Symposium: Stories of Advocacy and Action to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  It contains interviews documenting the work of disability advocates, current and former mental health professionals in Georgia, as well as he experiences of parents of children with autism.

These oral histories are part of a larger collection, which can be found here. 

Kacy Tedder

Teresa Heard

Eva Bowen

Dina Canup

Tatiana Anthony

Eve Byrd

Ruby Moore

Sue Smith and Sue Jamieson

Gab Rich

Harriet Van Norte