For the last few years, Story For All has directed a storytelling initiative in Oakland, listening to Opportunity Youth and their adult allies recount their experiences and support for the Reconnecting Youth Campaign (RYC). As we created the space for stories to be shared, a predictable magic happened: the storytellers become motivated to take further […]
“…And that’s how I met these group of players. I had no friends, man. I’m not used to being around people.” And then he stretched his arms out wide pointing at the 30 or so people in the bar and said with tears in his eyes, “These people are my family.” I was at […]
Empowering Youth through Creativity by Angela Zusman Alexa’s got a spring in her step. For the last several months, Alexa and a small team of high school students in San Lorenzo have been conducting interviews for Alliance for Arts Leadership’s Listening Campaign. They’ve listened to students, educators, parents, and principals all across Alameda County. […]
The Reclaiming Our Origins Through Story (ROOTS) Project is the narrative component of the Sunflower County Systems Change Project (SCSCP). The SCSCP is a community-based systems change approach that addresses school discipline, juvenile justice and media narrative of young men and boys of color (YMBOC). It is a partnership effort between the ACLU of Mississippi, […]
My Name is Daniel Henson (Listening Campaign: ACOE participant). As a young person in Alameda County, the thing I want people to know about is how diverse our communities are. So many different cultures have come together, and it is very visible within our school systems. Kids are mingling together in ways that seemed unorthodox […]
“What they don’t see is how my Grandma picked cotton to provide for our family, [but] what they do see is just another young black male.” In a circle of his peers and The Peace Poets, Myron, a participant in the “R.O.O.T.S. of Sunflower County” project and teenager in the Mississippi Delta, explained what other […]
To our beloved community, Today we are witnessing the power of story in action. I believe this election was dominated and ultimately decided by two expertly wielded stories: She is crooked, and He will make America great again. Facts were irrelevant. Such is the power of story. To what end? Today, many people are […]
INDIANOLA — Spurred by rhythmic beats on the table, beat-boxing and the synchronized head nodding of seven male teenagers, Vonkerius Jackson took his turn to freestyle rap. “Y’all know I can’t sing,” belted Jackson, a 10th grade student at Gentry High School in Indianola. They broke up in laughter and moved easily into a workshop […]
Kathryn Eastburn is a journalist with The Greenwood Commonwealth. This article was originally published on August 28, 2016. See article link here. Some 300 middle and high school students from across the Delta gathered at Mississippi Valley State University on Saturday for “School House Rights Rock,” an all-day seminar designed to inform them of their civil rights […]
As I approached the school’s cafeteria, I could hear the angelic giggles of carefree adolescent souls, golden as the Northern Californian spring sunshine that caused the school’s playground to glow. As I entered the cafeteria, where the after school program students were gathering their afternoon snacks, the sound of giggles was drowned out by the […]
I walk to Rasa Caffe on a cloudy day, look around the small and cozy store as I wait to meet with Rasa Mott, the owner. I spot The Griots of Oakland on the table looking well read. Brightly colored Emory Douglas Black Panther & revolutionary prints line the simple white walls, and a handful […]
The time has come AGAIN for the young people to lead the adults, as Ella Baker prophesied and the young people of Ferguson and Birmingham have demonstrated. It will not be a rejection of the old but an elaboration, an inexorability of the affirmative. There is a broad difference between refuting a stereotype, which the […]
My Story….My name is Ne’Quwan Taylor. I just turned 18 on November 13. I have a total of 6 brothers, 3 are older and 3 are younger, also 4 younger sisters. I am the first of my siblings to graduate from a regular high school. While I was in high school I was a part […]
There is a story that many Americans don’t often tell. It is the story of walking down the street without worrying. It is the story of being given the benefit of the doubt. And It is the story of being presumed innocent. The reason this story goes untold is because those of us who are […]
Story For All partners with the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation, to bring The SHINE to Jackson, Mississippi. On August 31st, President Obama announced that Jackson Medical Mall Foundation (JMMF) is one of six organizations selected to participate in the ArtPlace America Community Development Investments (CDI) Program. Over the course of three years, JMMF will receive […]
No annoying glasses needed for this breakthrough in 3D technology. A team at USC has been hard at work with their New Dimensions in Testimony initiative, with highly successful results. This holographic display is a product of recording “testimony in a way that will continue the dialogue between Holocaust survivors and learners far into the […]
Young African-American men speak up about what it’s like living in Oakland. For once the cover of a book does it justice. The Griots of Oakland: Voices from the African-American Oral History Project is a gorgeous volume, richly illustrated with dozens of photos of African-American males sharing their answers to questions from, “Are you going […]
This question is now being asked of Veterans in Madison, Wisconsin – and soon ten other locations around our country – through a program called, My Life My Story, an oral history project aimed at improving the healthcare of Veterans through the healing and transformative power of story. It is a project based on the […]
In a new and compelling report released by the Level Playing Field Institute out of Oakland, the answer to this question lies not in the tech industry itself, nor in the choices of our local youth. Rather, it resides in the all-important path between: the educational system that could – and should – provide that […]
May 4, 2015—ArtPlace America announced The Jackson Medical Mall Foundation today as one of 21 finalist organizations that have been selected from a pool of 261 applications to participate in the ArtPlace America Community Development Investments program. Six organizations will be chosen from the finalists in August 2015 to receive funds. The Jackson Medical Mall […]
We are over the moon and so very thankful to announce that Griots of Oakland has been selected for the In The Margins top 10 list. In the Margins is committed to promoting and highlighting diverse books and voices that have been in the margins. ITM strives to find the best books for teens living in poverty, […]
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’” ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Each year, on MLK Day of Service, Americans nationwide gather to give back to their neighbors, to their community. Every year, on this day, people from every background unite with the common goal of finding […]
According to the University of Scranton’s Journal of Clinical Psychology, while nearly 50% of Americans set New Years Resolutions, only 8% of them actually achieve their goal. Why is this you ask? Because to set a goal is to set yourself up for failure. Let me explain… And I’ll do it with a focus on […]
One of the best ways to refuel and replenish is to change vantage points and engage the world from a different perspective. And so I write this from Jamaica; the home of my maternal ancestors. This is the refuel I needed to welcome in December, the last month of the year, before returning to short […]
What does it mean to be healthy? How do we take care of our health, and how do we contribute to the health of our communities? The #HealthistheNewBlack Campaign, a partnership between the Bay Area United Black Fund, Story For All, and Kaiser, uplifts the voices and images of a diverse range of people in […]
