Scope and Contents

Tape 1, Side 1. In the first interview session, conducted on November 4, 2013, Edwards discusses his family background and early life in Pratt, Kansas, and in Portland, Oregon. He also talks about his experiences as the child of a gay father, about the death of his younger brother in 1982, and about racism he experienced in both Kansas and Oregon. He speaks about the lives and careers of his grandparents, aunts, and uncles. He talks about his education in Portland.

Scope and Contents Tape 1, Side 2, through Tape 2, Side 2. In the second interview session, conducted on November 5, 2013, Edwards continues to discuss his early life in Portland. He talks further about his education, about his teachers, and about his classes. He also shares his memories of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. He talks about studying math at Portland State University for two terms, and describes how he avoided the draft during the Vietnam War. He then discusses becoming an...