Terri Gentry

This interview was conducted with Terri Gentry on October 9, 2022 in Portland, ME. Terri describes her family history in Denver, Colorado beginning with her great-great grandparents on both sides of the family. She tells the story of her grandfather, the first licensed Black dentist in Colorado and of her father’s work in the police department and his further work opening his own company, Expressions in Video. Terri describes living with the loss of her mother and expresses her incredible gratitude for becoming the mom and grandma after marrying her second husband. Terri speaks about working for a public service company of Colorado after graduating high school, becoming a diversity trainer and eventually getting laid off leading her to start to work at furniture stores and go to interior design school. After starting her own interior design company she decided to go back to school and get BA in African American Studies, leading her to volunteer at the Black American West Museum. Terri describes having visited the museum twice a year since childhood. She goes on to speak on having started working at History Colorado last year, and working to record interviews and manage engagement with Black community. She feels that it helps celebrate those in her family and community who have uplifted one another. Terri describes having learned her family history from her grandmothers, including from Grandma Ernestine’s “ancestral wall” and the history of dance in her grandmother’s family, having worked professionally and then teaching thousands of students. Terri mentions traveling after her parents divorced to Pine Blush, Arkansas and the experience of feeling safe to go anywhere in Denver but experiencing the extreme racism in Arkansas and Louisiana. Terri talked about not learning about gardening because her mother loved to do it herself so much. She finishes by discussing recent deaths in her family and loss and the toughest part in her life.