Scope and Contents

Audio recording of an interview with Iowa state legislator Christina Bohannan on a variety of topics, including: her upbringing and experiences as a first-generation college student; her involvement with the University of Iowa Faculty Senate and its vote of no confidence in president Bruce Harreld; her campaign against an incumbent Democrat for the Iowa legislator; her legislative service; and strengths women bring to political office.

Scope and Contents

Transcript of an interview with Iowa state legislator Phyllis Thede, which includes discussion of the following topics: Thede's family; her experiences as a Black girl growing up in Chicago and Iowa, including differential experiences of segregation and racism in those respective locales; her analysis of the redistricting and its effects on her final reelection campaign; memories of serving in the legislature during the COVID-19 pandemic; memories of witnessing and being targeted by racist harassment at the legislature or among her constituents; her role in changing Iowa's law regarding insurance reimbursements for chiropractic care; the increasingly partisan character of politics in Iowa and the United States; the founding of the Black caucus in the Iowa legislature; and her Catholic faith.

Scope and Contents

Transcript of an interview with Iowa state legislator Christina Bohannan on a variety of topics, including: her upbringing and experiences as a first-generation college student; her involvement with the University of Iowa Faculty Senate and its vote of no confidence in president Bruce Harreld; her campaign against an incumbent Democrat for the Iowa legislator; her legislative service; and strengths women bring to political office.

Scope and Contents

Transcript of an interview with Iowa state legislator Phyllis Thede, which includes discussion of the following topics: Thede's family; her experiences as a Black girl growing up in Chicago and Iowa, including differential experiences of segregation and racism in those respective locales; her analysis of the redistricting and its effects on her final reelection campaign; memories of serving in the legislature during the COVID-19 pandemic; memories of witnessing and being targeted by racist harassment at the legislature or among her constituents; her role in changing Iowa's law regarding insurance reimbursements for chiropractic care; the increasingly partisan character of politics in Iowa and the United States; the founding of the Black caucus in the Iowa legislature; and her Catholic faith.

Scope and Contents The V Fixmer-Oraiz papers date from 2002 to 2024 and measure 5.5 linear inches and 1.68 gigabytes in one box. The papers are arranged in three series: Oral history interview, Drag career, and Johnson County Board of Supervisors.The oral history interview series contains an audio recording and transcript from an interview conducted by Kate Orazem on September 8, 2023. In the interview, Fixmer-Oraiz recalls their childhood, including growing up in a military family, living in Panama in 1989 during the US invasion, and coming out as gay in high school and the role played in their life by a supportive coach and teacher. The interview covers Fixmer-Oraiz’s educational path, including their experiences researching in the Philippines as a Fulbright scholar and a biracial Filipino American person. They discuss their urban planning career, with reference to Iowa water quality issues and the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm project. Fixmer-Oraiz also describes their campaign and...