Tag: storytelling

Tell the Untold Stories

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“If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.” – Zora Neale Hurston

During the 75th Golden Globes Awards this year, Oprah Winfrey received the Cecil B. de Mille award for outstanding achievement in entertainment, the first black woman to receive the award. Her riveting and powerful speech about the #metoo movement created by activist Tarana Burke, a black woman, went viral, in part because of what many called its “presidential” timbre. But, there was another reason Ms. Winfrey’s speech caught wind – she told the story of Recy Taylor. Continue reading →

The Entry Point: Conversations About Race and Difference

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The entry point: it’s the place of initial opportunity, first access, place where we begin anything.

Every country has an entry point. Whether by boat or by plane, there’s a place where those who care to visit must come through.

Every conversation has an entry point. Whether that begins with a hello or a glaring stare, there is something that serves as the initial opportunity for some kind of encounter with the other.

Every dwelling has an entry point, too. Whether that’s a front door, back door, screen door, or a makeshift door made out of cardboard, there’s a point of entry to get into the space.

What becomes difficult is when we desire to enter into a country, conversation or even a dwelling and cannot gain access to it because the entry points are obscure, hard to find, come with stipulations we do not meet, or we simply do not know enough to safely navigate the world on the other side and fear keeps us from even attempting to go through. Continue reading →

The Art of Storytelling

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Throughout history, stories have been told and retold for many reasons, but namely, so that the happenings, occurrences, and movements surrounding a group of people can be recorded and remembered.

I remember my Old Testament TA, Parker Diggory, saying something about storytelling that I’ll never forget:

History is always told by the victor.

Whoever wins the battle, whoever has the upper hand, whoever is the one in the position of power has the ability to not only tell a story, but manufacture, reconfigure, and shape the way a story is told.

Being a storyteller is a powerful, powerful position. Continue reading →