Odyssey Storytelling

Creating Connections, One Story At A Time

  • Home
  • Events
    • Next Show
    • Upcoming Themes
    • Past Shows
    • Out in the Community
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Who We Are
    • Volunteer
    • News
    • Press
  • Tell A Story
    • Pitch A Story
    • Resources for Storytellers
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Sponsor
  • Contact

Odyssey Storytelling Statement on Black Lives Matter

June 11, 2020 By Steve Braun

The essence of our organization is to create community one story at a time. We hold space for people to tell their stories, share their lived experiences on stage, and more importantly, for others to simply listen. Time and time again this has created connections and strengthened our Tucson community.
It’s no secret that our country has been increasingly divisive. It felt for a moment as if the COVID-19 pandemic had given us a common pain to endure together, though even the virus has disproportionately affected communities of color. Then the painful history of unresolved issues of systemic racism reared its ugly face to once more shock the nation. Shock for those who had not understood that this was already an endemic illness. An illness that has created a power structure which has dispensed both privilege and death.
Racist violence has been killing Black people in our nation since its inception. We watched in agony as yet another Black person was murdered as a result of police brutality.
Over the past few weeks we have taken time to listen and observe in hopes of understanding how we can best support this historic movement. It’s time for real change. We cannot sit silently with heavy hearts.
Racism is not simply something that only lives in individual hearts. It’s not about a few bad apples. It’s institutionalized oppression of people of color in our country. The very least we can do as allies of our Black brothers and sisters is to listen. Now is the time to uplift and amplify the voices of those who are literally screaming for attention to this issue. So we are here as we have been since our inception to do what we do best, to hold space for your voices, your stories.
We take our place in this narrative by first affirming that BLACK LIVES MATTER.
Our podcast has already begun by highlighting stories from individual people of color storytellers. While that is a good starting point, we know we need to do more to reach out to communities of color in Tucson, especially the Black community. Our stage, our audience, and our volunteer family should reflect the entire Tucson community. We’ve been working on that and recognize we must do better.
More immediately, we are producing a special event to highlight stories of systemic racism called “Black Stories Matter”. If you are a person of color and wish to share a personal story we encourage you to contact us at stories@odysseystorytelling.com. We know that not everyone has been able to join the protests due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, so we are offering our virtual space.
Odyssey has been a shining light for many of us in this community. Please lean on us now. We are here to support you.

Filed Under: News

Archives

Bruce Blackstone
Cynthia Meier
Eliza Weeks
Adam Hostetter
Isaac Ruiz
Justin Lukasewicz
Carroll Hemingway
Josh Wheeler
Bella Vivante
Robert Ronquillo
Farzana Marie
Megan Smithey
Klara Wojtkowska
David Ellis Dickerson
Jim Lipson
Georgette “George” Rosberg
Lata Nadig
Jayshiro Tashiro
Ethel Lee-Miller
ElenaAcoba
Drew Cronyn
IMG_3500
Israel Gonzalez
Mike Haggerty
Will Clipman
Shanna Leonard
James Austin's
Joellen Russell
Sarah K Smith
Mohur Sarah Sidhwa
Mari Herraras
Karlyn Bradley
Terry Fraze
David H. Levy
ERin Russ
Lorna Soroko
Ann Marie Clock
Raúl Alcaraz Ochoa
MichellePitot
Juliana Piccillo
John Wakefield
Monica Bauer
Edie Jarolim
IMG_3299
Simon Donovan
Nico Ratoff
Adria Elliott
Renate Schulz
Rob Zonfrelli
Elizabeth Tilley
Carolyn Langford Hussein Fort
Tony Paniagua
Ray Moody
May Hnin
Brian Taraz
Dan Horner
Yola Gomez
Zay Hartigan
Alison Davison
Amy Weintraub
Kevin Lee Lopez
IMG_3291
Sheila Wilensky
Matthew Jones
Lisannette Adelaida Dawson-Ruiz
Bridget Magee
Glenda Bonin
Merlin Spillers
Jerry Diaz
Janet K. Miller
Vanessa Zuber
100_7932
Molly McCloy
Logan Mutz
Melanie Madden
Jennifer Nowicki Clark
[Show thumbnails]

Watch videos of past shows here

Listen to our podcasts

Past shows

Out in the Community

Join Email List



Radical Act of Community Storytelling

A how-to memoir with a twist of advocacy written by Odyssey founder, Penelope Starr. Click here to find out more.

The radical act of community storytelling by Penelope Starr

Volunteer Opportunities

Click here to see a list of ways you can be part of the Odyssey crew.

Partners

Support community storytelling.  Contact us to become a sponsor.

facebookyoutube Donate-01

Odyssey Storytelling is a program of
StoryArts Group Inc.
P.O. Box 40422
Tucson Arizona 85717
www.storyartsgroup.org
Stories@Odysseystorytelling.com

ODYSSEY STORYTELLING: CREATING COMMUNITY ONE STORY AT A TIME

Site design by Julie Ray Creative | Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2023 | Odyssey Storytelling