StoryCorps Chicago: ‘All The Self-hatred You Feel Is Not True. It Will Pass. And You Will Heal.‘

Paris Mullen spoke about his journey to self-acceptance at the StoryCorps booth in Chicago.
Paris Mullen spoke about his journey to self-acceptance at the StoryCorps booth in Chicago. Courtesy of StoryCorps
Paris Mullen spoke about his journey to self-acceptance at the StoryCorps booth in Chicago.
Paris Mullen spoke about his journey to self-acceptance at the StoryCorps booth in Chicago. Courtesy of StoryCorps

StoryCorps Chicago: ‘All The Self-hatred You Feel Is Not True. It Will Pass. And You Will Heal.‘

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Forty-one-year-old Paris Mullen can be described many ways: Black. Gay. HIV-positive. A survivor of childhood sexual trauma. 

But in his early twenties, Mullen was engaged to a woman, a youth pastor at his church. When the church split, Mullen was twenty-seven years old, and he decided to do something he’d thought about for a long time: explore his sexuality. 

Paris Mullen recently visited the StoryCorps booth at the Chicago Cultural Center. He talked with his friend Erik Glenn and colleague Hana Anderson about his journey toward self-acceptance.

This story was recorded through a partnership between StoryCorps Chicago and the Chicago Department of Public Health.

‘StoryCorps’’ mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to share, record and preserve their stories. These excerpts, edited by WBEZ, present some of our favorites from the current visit, as well as from previous trips.