Interview with Stefan Cornelius Goodwin, June 24, 2021

Interview Summary

Stefan Goodwin served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nigeria, from 1966 through 1967. Stefan was always attracted to diversity. He was involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s, was arrested with Representative John Lewis at a lunch counter sit in, and met Dr. Martin Luther King. Being opposed to the Vietnam war, Stefan applied to Peace Corps as an alternative to being drafted. His Nigeria group trained at Michigan State University. He was one of only two Black volunteers in the group. Stefan was assigned to teach at the Federal Advanced Teachers College, in Okene. He later transferred to Zaria, to teach French and English at the Government College. The interview discusses Stefan’s life prior to Peace Corps; experiences in training; volunteer assignments; travels in West Africa; differential treatment of volunteers of color; experiences as a Black American living in a post-British Colonial society; and reflections on the value of Peace Corps service.

Interview Keyword

Peace Corps (U.S.) Nigeria (Country of service) Nigeria 1966-1967 (Date of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Education Peace Corps (U.S.)--1960-1970 Hausa (language) French (language) Vietnam War Conscientious Objector University of Iowa Civil Rights Movement Michigan State University (training site) Federal Advanced Teachers College, Okene Zaria Black Americans African Americans LGBTQ+

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