Interviews Wanted!

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As you have no doubt noticed in many of the things I have posted, in my quest to document Peoria's LGBTQ+ history, I have relied a lot upon reporting from the press to tell the story. However, these reports only tell of a small piece of the puzzle. They can tell us a lot, but not everything. Do they preserve facts? Absolutely. Do they convey the full lived experience of our community? No way. 

That's where you come in! I want to talk to you. Yes, you! It does not matter if you are 20 or 120 - your experience matters. This project is not only to uncover the past, but also to preserve the present for our future. What might seem like a trivial, insignificant tidbit now might be an invaluable link to something bigger in the future. 

Like I said, I want to talk to you. Shoot me an email (hustonm88@gmail.com) or fill out the contact form on the left-hand side and let's get something scheduled! 

Now, if you are worried about what all of this looks like, I want to put your mind at ease - I am NOT going to shove a camera in your face the first moment I get! Haha (that comes later). Typically, I do this in 3 phases:

  1. We set up a time for a premeeting. This is where you get to talk to me and get to pick your brain as to what kind of questions I should (or should not) ask of you on the record.
  2. I email you some of the questions ahead of time. No one likes to feel ambushed and I want to give you time to think about some of the things you'd like to say in your interview.
  3. We record the interview. The official interviews I have conducted so far have been video recorded (although there are other options if you are not comfortable with this). I do have a release form that you would sign off on beforehand. I have been using space at Central Illinois FRIENDS' Community Center to get these done.
  4. You review the transcript. After our interview is complete, I will send you a final transcript to look over. At that point, the process is complete and you are officially part of the historical record! Yay!
I should point out that school is still in session and I am a one man operation here, so my apologies if I cannot get back to you right away! But I will certainly try. I hope to hear from you soon!

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