Harris, Wesley (Video Interview and Transcript)
Abstract
Description
Wesley Harris is from a small town called, Albermarle, In North Carolina. He began attending Wake Forest University in the early 2000s as an undergraduate student majoring in History, returned as a Double Deac for his Masters's program in counseling. After graduating in 2012, he began working in the Multicultural Center (now known as the Intercultural Center) until 2015. At the time of this interview, he was working at Iowa State University in a program that looks to increase the number of Iowa Youth who pursue careers and majors in STEM. During his time at Wake, he not only was the founder and member of a Historically Black Fraternity, Omicron Sigma chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, but also partnered with organizations like Lost In Translation, ASIA, The Women's Center, and the LGBTQ center. Harris discusses the drawback to growing up within the heteronormative mindsets of his small town within the South, sharing personal experiences as well as the development of his interaction/relationship with the LGBT community all throughout his adulthood. Thus, he broke the close-minded ways of his past, explaining that he is a "recovering homophobic," working to educate others, and has now progressed to being referred to as an "ally" of the LGBTQ+ community.
Keywords
Queer Public Histories, Wake Forest University--History, Wake Forest University--Students, Wake Forest University--Faculty, Muliticultural Center, Black alumni