Oral history interview with April D. Lewis

Collection

Identifier: SR 11483

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with April D. Lewis was conducted by Tyler Brewington and Heaven Hartford on May 1, 2012, for the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest. The interview was conducted as part of a senior capstone class on LGBTQ history at Portland State University, with instructor Pat Young. A transcript of the interview is available.

In this interview, Lewis briefly discusses her family background, early life in Portland, Oregon, and her early career. She talks about her relationship with Carol D. French, about her experience of coming out as a lesbian to her family, and about how social attitudes towards LGBT people changed. She discusses lesbian and gay bars in Portland, talks about recovering from alcoholism, and speaks about people she knew who were affected by the AIDS epidemic. She also speaks about raising children with her partner and talks about marriage equality. The interviewers close the interview by discussing their senior capstone class on LGBTQ history at Portland State University, with instructor Pat Young.

Dates

2012 May 1

Creator

Lewis, April D., 1952- (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Biographical note

April D. Lewis was born in Carrollton, Illinois, in 1952. In 1955, her family moved to Portland, Oregon. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Southern Oregon College in Ashland.

Extent

734 Megabytes (1 audio file (WAV, 1 hr., 12 min., 47 sec.) + transcript (46 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with April D. Lewis conducted by Tyler Brewington and Heaven Hartford on May 1, 2012, for the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest. Lewis discusses her experiences as a lesbian in Portland, Oregon.