martia goodson, who is the author of this new book, and longtime abyssinian church member grace l. jones. thank you both for being with us this afternoon. >> so, martia, i'm gonna ask you, what made you decide that this was a story that needed to be told in print? >> ah, that's a great question. i'm an oral historian. i interviewed a great number of women, and their stories were very compelling to me. but as i got deeper into the process of figuring out what to do with their interviews, it became apparent to me that these were not famous people. their deeds were unrecorded. their voices were silenced. and also, they offered a perspective on adam clayton powell jr., women who knew him from the time that they were children, and that perspective, i think, was unique in the annals of historiography about adam clayton powell jr. they had great stories to tell, and i felt they needed to be told. >> they really did. and, grace, when i started recollection of first seeing him and he became your boyfriend... [ both laugh ] and you were eight or nine, right? >> i was, yes. >> i loved that ho