Collections : [Oral History Archives at Columbia]

Side A: First experiences with acting: roles in religious plays; work with theater as ministry; first work as composer; family and childhood: parents' occupation and religious beliefs; musical talent: meeting Fats Waller, music lessons; religious beliefs: becoming a devote fundamentalist, work in revivals; attending Swarthmore College; siblings: younger brother; early opposition to segregation, parents' thoughts on segregation; mentors in youth; early career aspirations; college education: hunger for learning, English and Philosophy studies, attending Union Theological Seminary at Columbia; recollections of the theater world in the 1960s: work at Judson, Cino, LaMama, work with people: Sam Shepherd, Irene Fornas, Paul Goodman; relationship of church and theater; influence of commercialism on theater work; work as an acting teacher/mentor; relationship to theater organizations; role in Theater for the Deaf: learning ASL; writing script for Theater for the Handicapped 'The Making of America', role as Gertrude Stein; artistic mentors and role models: Larry Kornfeld, Paul Tillich, Samuel Beckett; artistic and religious peers: Tom Driver, Bob Seever, Amos Wilder, Joe Chaikin, Jacques Levy; recognition from younger actors; gatekeepers in career: critics: Clive Barnes, Edith Oliver, Joe Papp; commission from Metropolitan Opera; relationship to money throughout career; effect of marketplace on theater; thoughts on making a career in theater. SIDE B: Receiving grants, importance of grants; influence on other actors' careers: making casting decisions; interaction with public; responding to social issues in artistic work; definition of success in career; next artistic goals: interest in writing an American opera; teaching work; greatest satisfaction and disappointment in career; thoughts on occupation versus career; occupation as minister; advice for young artists.

Across this four-session interview, Alice Kessler-Harris discusses her research and early career which emerged from the women's movement of the 1970s. Kessler-Harris discusses her role as a lead witness in the 1986 case brought against Sears, Roebuck and Company for gender discrimination, and her related 1990 publication A Woman's Wage. Kessler-Harris talks about the beginnings of her academic career, including her experiences teaching at Rutgers University, Sarah Lawrence College, and Hofstra University. She also discusses the guidance she received from Rutgers historian Warren Sussman and her work with District 65 of the United Automobile Workers union before accepting a position at Columbia University. Kessler-Harris discusses the introduction of gender as a category of analysis in the 1990s and, upon her arrival at Columbia, the transition within the women's studies department from activist scholarship to public intellectualism, and the increasingly post-structural, theoretical direction of women's studies. Additionally, Kessler-Harris describes what she sees as a decline in student activism while also acknowledging the role of students in helping her create safe spaces for transgender students. Furthermore, Kessler-Harris discusses her program "Social Justice After the Welfare State" at the Center for the Study of Social Difference, and the role of intersectionality in the future of IRWGS.

Alicia Parker describes her work with the New York City Police Department, and her involvement with the Guardians Association from the 1970s through the 1990s. She sheds light on challenges she faced as a woman of color, and how the Guardians Association and the Policewomen's Endowment Association played an important role in her career advancement. She also provides details on the administrations of Mayor David Dinkins, for whom she provided Personal Security, and of Rudy Giuliani. Also discussed, were the distressed relations between police and communities of color in New York City, and the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement as of 2015.