Oral History with John Gray Williams, October 28, 2014 (Ms2015-007)

Partial Transcript: Today is Tuesday, October 28, 2014, I, Whitney Wright, am conducting an interview and Damon Kinmond is the Sound Technician for Virginia Tech's Oral History Project.

Segment Synopsis: An introduction to the interview with John Gray Williams.

Partial Transcript: John Gray, thank you so much for doing this we greatly appreciate it. I guess my first question for you starting off is who was important to you growing up and also where are you from, originally?

Segment Synopsis: Talks about the composition of his family growing up.

Keywords: Blended families; Born; Brothers; Dads; Genetics; Hampton Roads; Mothers; Parents; Siblings; Stepdads; Stepsisters; Virginia Beach

Partial Transcript: WRIGHT: Now, I wanted to ask you how do you identify yourself, and did you find... how early on did you
define who you were personally? WILLIAMS: As gay?

Segment Synopsis: Discusses the self-discovery of his sexuality, the shock and fear of having it nearly revealed to his family, and his reasons for remaining closeted prior to college.

Keywords: childhood; closeted; fear; religion; sexual discovery

Partial Transcript: Do you, as far as the curriculum, what you learned in high school, do you think that maybe you'd have felt a little more comfortable...

Segment Synopsis: Describes the lack of LGBTQ history in his high school curriculum and describes an effeminite openly gay student who was bullied at his high school.

Keywords: AIDS; bullying; education

Partial Transcript: Okay, so this is very interesting, because you're from the Virginia Beach area. How did you end up at Tech...

Segment Synopsis: Describes how he first learned about LGBTQ issues and history while attending Tidewater Community College.

Keywords: library research; sexual experimentation; transfer students

Partial Transcript: So was Tech one of the many schools that you researched and you found that it was the best?

Segment Synopsis: Explanation of reasons for wanting to attend Virginia Tech. Description of coming out experiences with family.

Keywords: LGBT family members; activism; first generation college students; police arrest

Partial Transcript: No that was perfect. That was perfect. So you came out to your family, you're at Tech now, and then you're getting involved in...Was it called Hokie Pride at the time?

Segment Synopsis: Talks about his choice of major while at Virginia Tech and making first contact with the LGBTA.

Keywords: Gobblerfest; LGBTQ student groups; Student Work Fair; college majors; landscape architecture; urban planning

Partial Transcript: It was really awesome to be in that kind of a space. So then
I...I'm the type of person to get involved really quickly. I went to every meeting.

Segment Synopsis: Describes joint activism conducted by LGBTA and Soul Force across the region, including an altercation with police at the United States Naval Academy.

Keywords: Corps of Cadets; Don't Ask Don't Tell; Soul Force; activism; police; protests

Partial Transcript: So were there any activities on campus or any moments of protest on campus? I mean what was your experience here?

Segment Synopsis: Digression about recent initiatives led by the College Republicans related to immigration issues.

Keywords: Alien Invasion; College Republicans; illegal immigration; undocumented immigrants

Partial Transcript: WILLIAMS: Yeah, so the LGBTA office door was vandalized while I was student here. People basically ripped pages out of a Bible, like the Bible verses – they call them the Clobber Passages – there’s like eight verses in the Bible that deal with same sex sexual activity. I don’t even call it homosexuality or gay sex because those identities didn’t even exist in Biblical times. It’s purely like same sex interactions. They ripped the Bible pages out that had those verses in them and glued them to our door and highlighted or circled the passages, and they took a sharpie and wrote on the door "God hates fags" "Fags burn in hell" "You’re going to hell" and all that stuff.

Segment Synopsis: Describes a 2005 incident of vandalism directed at the LGBTA office, Virginia Tech's response, and the LGBTA's response.

Keywords: Safewatch Program; Zenobia Hikes; hate crimes; religion; vandalism

Partial Transcript: What do you think...and this is with any marginalized group...what do you think, or how did you feel, what prompted you, where did you find that strength to fight?

Segment Synopsis: Discusses his reasons for becoming an advocate for LGBTQ issues.

Keywords: activism; defiance; inspiration

Partial Transcript: So how did these events...I know you mentioned the gay marriage, was that on campus?

Segment Synopsis: Describes the Freedom to Marry Day event in Spring of 2006.

Keywords: activism; gay marriage; protests; same sex marriage

Partial Transcript: WRIGHT: Alright, Hokie Pride. WILLIAMS: Like the current group? WRIGHT: Your involvement...well let's clarify that...When did it become Hokie Pride?

Segment Synopsis: Talks about the name change from LGBTA to Hokie Pride and about coming back to the group after having left for graduate school.

Keywords: LGBT student groups; gay student groups

Partial Transcript: I became an officer and I became in charge of Gay Awareness Week, which is now Pride Week. And so I brought...I was in charge of an entire weeklong series of events where I brought a couple gay speakers to campus, and we actually had another protest. It was called the Gay? Fine by Me Rally where we had a generous donator...donor who donated a bunch of shirts that say “Gay.” Have you ever seen the gay fine by me?

Segment Synopsis: Describes the Gay? Fine by Me Rally and Gay Awareness Week events at Virginia Tech.

Keywords: Crysta Highfield; Gay Awareness Week; Pride Week

Partial Transcript: WRIGHT: So I want to get back to some of your
story and I know so... WILLIAMS: Oh, what time is it? Kinmond: It is 6:55. WILLIAMS: Okay. WRIGHT: Alright, so at some point you leave and was it going off to grad school or were you working?

Segment Synopsis: Talks about being involved with LGBTA events after graduation and the decision to pursue a graduate degree in student affairs at another school.

Keywords: Relay for Life; graduate school; student affairs

Partial Transcript: WRIGHT: Well, that's awesome and that gets us to here your current experience here working at Tech. And I also want to ask you about the diversity on Tech's campus as well as student population, faculty population, administrators, and things and how does that...how did that effect...or how does that effect the gay and queer population here, or do you see a correlation between the diversity or even maybe lack of and if that kind of effects the atmosphere in a way here?

Segment Synopsis: Discussion of diversity and representation of marginalized groups at Virginia Tech and decision to pursue a career in the student affairs discipline of career services. Description of long distance relationship ending, and the awkwardness involved in returning to Blacksburg after graduate school.

Partial Transcript: WILLIAMS: They let me do lots of diversity and social justice stuff at my office.

WRIGHT: Like what?

WILLIAMS: So I'm the
liaison to Multicultural Programs and Services from our department so I'm the face of Career Services for MPS.

Segment Synopsis: Describes his current job at Virginia Tech including a discussion of job related diversity issues, coordination of an LGBT networking reception, and his work with the SafeZone program.

Keywords: LGBT Networking Reception; LGBTQ job search issues; Multicultural Programs and Services; SafeZone; inclusiveness

Partial Transcript: WRIGHT: Well I'm not gonna say last question because I'll probably ask a follow up but why did you choose to participate in this project? WILLIAMS: Cause I think my story is worth hearing. WRIGHT: And it is.

Segment Synopsis: Explains his motivation for participating in the project.

Partial Transcript: WRIGHT: That's gonna be my, probably, final question for you, well second to last question for you. Can you share some of the positive experiences of being a Hokie, and even at your current position, and you're still a Hokie?

Segment Synopsis: Talks about positive feelings related to Virginia Tech.

Keywords: community; inclusiveness; school spirit

Partial Transcript: WRIGHT: And then this will be my final question: was there anything that we didn't discuss that you would like to share? WILLIAMS: Hmmm [Whispers] I don't know, possibly. [Laughs] Um...hmm...yeah I don't know.

Segment Synopsis: Discussion of the lack of education about marginalized populations in general and LGBT issues in particular and how this led to an interest in social justice. Further discussion about colonialism, white privilege, and the long-term economic effects of colonialism on the economy of Africa.

Keywords: cash crops; colonialism; education; social constructs; social identities; social justice; white privilege

Partial Transcript: WRIGHT: Alright, this is my final question. WILLIAMS: This is so unrelated but...[laughs] WRIGHT: I promise you, this is my final question to you, throughout our interview, I think at least three or four occasions you mentioned the current issues for the gay community.

Segment Synopsis: Talks about issues that continue to concern the LGBTQ community after securing marriage equality by relating the LGBTQ civil rights struggle to the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

Keywords: Loving v. Virginia.; alphabet soup; bullying; gay marriage; interracial marriage; marriage equality; post-racial; religion; same sex marriage; suicide

Partial Transcript: WRIGHT: Thank you. WILLIAMS: Yeah, thank you. WRIGHT: For your time. WILLIAMS: Happy to help. Let me know if this ends up in a gay history book or something. WRIGHT: Will do.

Segment Synopsis: Closing of the interview with John Gray Williams