Women from CrossingBarriers and All Parks Alliance for Change make their videos
Storytelling predates the written word. People have been telling stories for as long as we have had speech. Stories are learned image-by-image, rather than word-by-word, and are retold from the heart. Throughout history, stories have been used to educate, express, advocate and organize. It is through the sharing of stories that communities build their identities, pass on traditions, and construct meaning.
50+ Group Leader from Twin Cities Community Voice Mail
When a story is shared, a powerful connection is built –and from this connection personal stories have the ability to move both the storyteller and the listener to create a shared political view of the world…and then of course, move towards collective action. Adapted from Fourth World Rising, Main Street Project, Third World Majority, and the Center for Digital Storytelling 9/15/06
Across the United States, movement-building organizations are placing storytelling central to their organizing. In Philadelphia, the Media Mobilizing Project’s slogan is “movements begin with the telling of untold stories.” Here in Minneapolis, the Main Street Project believes that “one-by-one we reach people, share our stories, and build relationships.” Recently, as part of our Justice 2.0 Initiative, we started to lead “Storytelling for Social Change” workshops. In these trainings, we teach community members that “everyone has a powerful story to tell, because we all see, hear, and perceive the world in different ways.” We believe that the power of storytelling in organizing is its ability to create empathy and build relationships between different people and communities by connecting both the storyteller and the listener within a common narrative.
Staff and Community from Just Equity make a video about the impact of Light Rail on St. Paul's Rondo Neighborhood
For the historically disenfranchised communities we work with (whether migrant, communities of color, or low-income) we know that survival depends on maintaining the identities, languages, and traditions that hold a community together. To this end, media–in our own hands–can be a valuable storytelling tool that supports our self-determination, preserves our collective identity, and strengthens our struggles for social and economic justice.
Recently, the Headwaters Foundation for Justice awarded $215,000 to 24 Minnesota-based not-for-profit organizations. In keeping with Headwaters’ mission to support grassroots organizations and promote social, racial, economic and environmental justice, grants were given to organizations that address systems change. All grantees were invited to participate in a 2-part “Storytelling for Social Change” workshop with us. In the first session, participants learned about the application of storytelling in a variety of contexts, and the potential of multimedia technology to support the use of narrative in their organizing.
In the second session, participants developed a multimedia narrative related to their Headwaters Social Change grant. Take a minute and watch the short videos these organizations created, and reflect on what it could look like if our communities had the media skills, digital literacy, technology and access to create media about the root causes of the problems we face.
