Interview with Kirin Thurman, June 19, 2015

Thurman talks about his experience growing up as black kid in Panoramic City, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. He talks about riding VMX dirt bikes with his older brother. Thurman talks about his process of becoming race conscious while growing up in a very white county as one of a handful of black students at the schools he attended. He credits his family's move out of Los Angeles as transforming his and his brother's lives by taking them out of a racist environment that he characterizes as being very alienating. He talks about his frustrations about the way white people respond to race and racism, but also talks about his marriage to a white woman and recounts the story of their first date. Thurman reflects on the Charleston church shooting on June 17, 2015, which occurred just two days before the date of this recording, and expresses frustration at the way that violence permeates U.S. culture.


This interview is part of the Georgia Narratives series.

2015-06-19

RBRL324FPP-0066

53 minutes