Interviewee: Jordan Graham
Interviewer: Ashby Combahee
Date of interview: July 10, 2021
Biography:
Jordan Graham (he/him, they/them) grew up in the Douglasville area before attending Georgia State University to study literature. They later moved to Athens to complete their undergraduate degree at the University of Georgia in entertainment and media studies. Jordan first started working in libraries as a volunteer and eventually worked their way up to full-time staff member. In 2022, he completed his Master's in Library and Information Sciences degree at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign iSchool, where his studies emphasized Diversity, Equity and Inclusion topics with a focus on LGBTQ+ communities. Jordan currently lives in the Athens are with his husband and works as a public librarian.
Abstract:
Jordan Graham discusses growing up the the Douglasville area in the 2000s in a conservative Christian environment with insular ideologies. They describe experiences of religious abuse and how they found solidarity with their cousins - whom they refer to as "part-time sisters" - over their shared upbringing. After high school, Jordan attended Georgia State University before moving to Athens to study entertainment and media at the University of Georgia. He speaks about navigating relationships with his parents as a young adult and the circumstances that led him to reduce family contact. Jordan recounts moving briefly to California after college. They talk about living with friends and doing boom operator gig work in Los Angeles before returning to Georgia. where they eventually began volunteering at a public library in Cobb County. Finding a niche in advocating for trans representation in library spaces, Jordan worked his way up from volunteer to part-time to full-time, and at the time of recording, reports being in a library sciences graduate program.
Special Collections and Archives
Gender and Sexuality Collections: Subject Guide
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