Interview with James A. Jim Aull

Length: 120 minutes Interview with James A. Jim Aull by Jeremiah Morales Mr. Aull begins by describing his childhood in a rural community outside of Philadelphia, living with his parents, sister, and paternal grandmother. He describes his experiences in school, including the required church attendance and his first social service activities through the boarding school programs serving poor communities. While at Princeton, he says he became involved with the YCMA and Christian student organizations, leading to his involvement in civil rights. He recalls his travels through the Soviet Union and Turkey. He recalls his time at the Chicago Theological Seminary earning his divinity degree where he first began acknowledging his sexual orientation. He explains that he didn’t come to peace with it until years later, after a marriage, divorce, and eventually beginning a relationship with a man and moving to Oak Park, where he co-founded the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association. He recalls how, after his partner passed away from AIDS, he got involved in AIDS counseling. He describes his outreach program for poor, inner city white communities, pushing back against the racism through dialogue. He details the events at the 1968 DNC, where he chaperoned a group of students to the event and through the protests. He talks about his life following those events, his time teaching and continued work with the YMCA, and his feelings about the legacy of those events today