More Than A Single Story

Reconstructing Narratives & Owning Our Story (Website Launch)
2019-04-24 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Ave, Minneapolis, MN, 55454
Media is one of the most influential cultural sources of news and entertainment. Its power to sway society, intervene in discourse and serve as an arbiter of knowledge, at the level of the popular and political, is profound. In this way, media is storytelling, because storytelling is its lynchpin; it is what makes media make sense. So, where do IPOC communities take this ever-expanding definition of media to serve our own visions? And how do we advance our work as makers of media that will continue to shift terrain, power and voice?
In this More Than a Single Story program, Adaobi Okolue, Executive Director of Twin Cities Media Alliance & Publisher of Twin Cities Daily Planet, will moderate a discussion with media artists to explore these questions and reflect on what they are doing to reclaim our stories. Featuring D.A. Bullock, Chanida Phaengdara Potter, Melissa Olson, Bianca Rhodes and Xavier Tavera. Opening poet: Terrence Shambley.
PLUS an intimate preview and walkthrough of our NEW website by web designer Travon Sellers with Travon Sellers Design.
DOORS at 6:00 with door prizes to the Valerie June Concert at the Cedar Cultural Center!!
Weds. April 24, 2019 – 6:30-8:30
Augsburg University
Sateren Auditorium (inside Anderson Music Hall)
1977 S 7th 1/2 St.
Minneapolis, MN 55454
FREE
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Women From the Center Supporting Each Other
2018-04-26 19:00 - 21:00 UTC | East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier St, St Paul, MN 55106, Saint Paul, MN, 55104, United States
The multicultural writing group, Women From the Center will discuss how they support each other. On the surface, it seems like a simple conversation. But when you consider that they are from 5 decades and seven racial/cultural groups (Dakota, Ojibwe, African American, 5th generation Irish American, Hmong, Vietnamese, & Jewish/Arab), there is considerable complexity and potential for conflict. Featuring: Carolyn Holbrook, Mai Neng Moua, Nora Murphy, Anh-Hoa Thi Nguyen, Marcie Rendon, Jna Shelomith, Diane Wilson.

Visions of the Future for Men of Color
2018-04-25 18:30 - 20:00 UTC | Hamline Midway Library, 1558 W Minnehaha Ave, Saint Paul, MN, 55104, United States
In this conversation, David Mura will discuss with Art Coulson, Ezekiel Joubert, Shinaah Thao, and Michael Torres about their views on how men of color see the future–both what we need for ourselves and what our communities need from us? How can we critique and discard toxic models of masculinity? How do we create a masculinity which helps both us and our communities move forward? How do we heal from our wounds and how do we help provide the next generation with new ways of seeing themselves as men? How do we create new definitions of masculinity that take into account intersectionality, especially in regards to the ways we deal with gender, orientation and an increasingly diverse population? Opening poem: Anthony Ceballos.

Finding Courage in a Time of Darkness
2018-04-18 19:00 - 21:00 UTC | Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Saint Paul, MN, 55401, United States
In this conversation, Carolyn Holbrook will talk with Lana Barkawi, Arleta Little, Jessica Lopez Lyman, Anh-Hoa Thi Nguyen and Susan Mona Power about where and how they find strength and courage in the difficult times we are living in. Mother Theresa once said “I do not agree with the big way of doing things. To us, what matters is an individual.” These women will explore large and small ways they have find courage when they need it in their own and others writing, and ways that they give courage to others, often while struggling to maintain their own center. Opening Poem: Sagirah Shahid

Bamboozled.. Again
2018-04-08 14:00 - 16:00 UTC | Loft Literary Center, 1101 Washington Ave., Minneapolis, MN, 55415, United States
As Kevin Young points out in Bunk, his new book of essays, it’s no secret that communities of color have been plagued with hoaxes, humbugs and much fake news ever since Cristobal Colon (aka Christopher Columbus) invaded these shores, causing fearfulness which resulted in deep seated racism. In this More Than a Single Story conversation, Carolyn Holbrook will explore with Sharon Day, Kathryn Haddad, Ed Bok Lee, Alexs Pate and Tlahtoki Xochimeh the past and present ways our communities have been tricked, lied to and misaligned through literature, news, and government policies. We will discuss the effects these hoaxes have had on our communities over many generations and the writing that is coming out of the current political climate. Opening poem by Gabriella Anais Deal Marquez

Rituals and Cultural Stories That Sustain Us
2018-03-22 18:30 - 20:30 UTC | Wisdom Ways Center for Spirituality, 1890 Randolph St., Saint Paul, MN, 55105, United States
In this More Than a Single Story conversation, Carolyn Holbrook will talk with African American poet/choreographer/memoirist, Mary Moore Easter, Hmong memoirist, Mai Neng Moua, Mexican/American memoirist/playwright Vanesa Ramos and Arab/Jewish poet Jna Shelomith about how rituals and ancestral stories carry us, and how our own writing reflects those stories. Opening Poem by Isela Gomez
