Stephanie van Reigersberg

Interviewer

Eli Bastiaansen

Interviewee

Stephanie van Reigersberg

Pronouns

she/her

Location

McLean, VA

Place of Birth

St. Joseph MO

Birth Date

October 27, 1940

Gender

♀ Female

Education

BA Swarthmore College 1962

College

Title + Work/ Occupational Experience

Diplomatic Interpreter
(Retired)

Medical Interpreter with Free Clinic, retired Simultaneous Interpreter with UN, retired Diplomatic Interpreter with US Dept of State & White House

Other Background

Lived and worked in Africa, worked with many people of color throughout my life

Connection with Black Lives Matter

No direct connection with the event which led to this movement but active in racial justice movements

Connection with Interviewer

I am Eli Bastiaansen’s grandmother.

What else?

I have had so many close friends and colleagues of color all my life that I had to educate myself to realize the reality of many of the issues that my Black friends contend with in this country every day. I thought I was pretty color-blind, but thanks to recent events and all the reading I have been doing, I have very belatedly come to realize how much of the Black experience in this country I had no idea about or, worse, had been ignoring.

Date of the Interview

November 12, 2023

Interview Records:

Abstract, Field Notes & Transcription