We often think of storytelling as the thing a teacher, parent, or older sibling did when we were little. They’d sit beside us and read (or tell) a story. But stories are more than that; stories are primary to our lives. They are the way we communicate nearly everything, from the spoken to the unspoken. Everything is story: ads, photos, songs, gossip, history, news, etc. They are also primal. The Chauvet cave paintings reveal not art, but the stories of what mattered to those who lived there 32,000 years ago. There are stories old and new about Stonewall, about Juneteenth, about all celebrations of achievement held in June.
As folks who advance transformative social change, we can use story as a tool to create connection, listen to others, and reveal truth–we can tell about who we are in a way that is genuine and compelling, especially to those who resist the messages we bring. In this issue we offer resources and ideas about how social change agents can bring storytelling into the work they do, both for themselves and for the world they seek to make.
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