c ore v a lue t h at Je w i s h te x t enc ou ra g e s: pr e s e r v i n g me mor ie s a s m a rke r s o f o u r e x i s t e n c e — o r, s i m p l y p u t , stor ying. To d a y, t h e s t o r i e s o f H o l o c a u s t sur vivors have shaped the Jewish world. Through stor ying, sur vivors have been able to address profound persona l trauma a nd ser ve a s a vita l link connecting t he contempora r y Jewish world to our recent pa st. For a generation of Jews that grew up outside the Holocaust, these stories ensure that the tragedies of the past are not forgotten and that we rema in steadfa st in our commitments to combat intolera nce a nd promote justice. This puts us in the unique position of being able to recognize a nd respond to other communities
o t h e r h o w w e p u t t h i n g s t o g e t h e r .” There is also the Neighborhood Stor y Proje c t ( NSP), a nonprof it that work s with New Orlea ns residents to write a nd collect stories of their neighborhoods; their slogan i s “ O u r S t o r i e s To l d B y U s .” T h e NSP independent ly publishes t he f inal work to be sold and distribu t e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o m m u n i t y. In 20 05, t he NSP published The Combination, a book written by a high school student t hat tells t he stor y of the L a f itte Housing Project t hrough inter views, photographs, poems, and obser vations. To d a y L a f i t t e h a s b e e n e n t i r e l y demolished a nd its residents have been scattered across the cit y a nd t h e c o u n t r y, b u t T h e C o m b i n a t i o n
What if you hit the streets with notebooks and digital recorders instead of nails and hammers? grappling with a collective trauma. A nd yet, even with stor ying deeply rooted in our tradition, Jewish socia l action tends to focus its ef forts on physica lly ma nifested needs without addressing psychologically manifested needs, l i k e p o s t-t r a u m a t i c s t r e s s d i s o r d e r, menta l hea lt h, a nd loss of collective m e m o r y. A s a m o v e m e n t , w e c a n n o t afford to pick and choose which a spects of injustice to address. The need to focus on psychological trauma has been recognized by several groups in New Orleans t hat encoura ge pa rticipa nts to tell stories in order to f ight injustice a nd he a l. Ju nebu g Produc t ions, for example, is an arts organization t h a t a d d r e s s e s t he A f r ic a n- A me ri c a n e x p e r i e n c e t h r o u g h t h e a t e r, music, da nce, a nd stor ying. They facilitate Stor y Circles, a method developed to foster the sharing and shaping of persona l stories and to help pa rticipa nts see la rger trends that relate to their own experiences, including patterns of racism, classism, a nd se x ism t hat c a n be d i ff icult to discern. “ W h e n w e t e l l s t o r i e s ,” s a y s Ju nebu g Produc t ions fou nder Joh n O’Nea l, “we a re sha ring with each Around the World presentense.org/magazine
sur vives in the hands of many who ca lled L a f itte home. The NSP may not be rebuilding L a f itte, or even petitioning politicia ns to uphold the Fair Housing Act, but they are unquestionably responding to societa l inequities a nd f ighting for socia l justice in powerf u l ways. S o h e r e ’s a n i d e a : W h a t i f o n y ou r ne x t v olu nt e e r t r ip t o Ne w O rlea ns you hit the streets with note-
book s a nd digita l recorders instead of nails and hammers? W hat if your whole mission was to collect peop l e ’s s t o r i e s a n d t o l i s t e n t o t h e m ? W hat if you raised money to get t heir stories printed a nd distributed them throughout that communit y? W hat if you learned to moderate Stor y Circles and hosted them at c om mu n it y c e nt e r s , on s t r e e t c orners, a nd in churches? The Jewish activist communit y shou ld be leading t his movement. We s h o u l d t a k e t h e i n i t i a t i v e t o address psychological trauma directly by incorporating stor ying into our vision of repa iring t he world, and honor our own histories while f inding innovative ways to pursue socia l justice. It ha s become a n integra l pa r t of our lives in New Orleans to always consider the stories of whoever we m e e t . W h a t ’s y o u r K a t r i n a s t o r y ? PT Leah Var sano is a member o f AVO DAH: T h e J ewi s h S e rvice Corps in New Orleans, w h e r e she works as a community organizer on issues of neighborhood revitalization. Ta m a r To l e d a n o i s a m e m b e r o f AVO DAH in N ew O r l e an s where she works with local youth to create ar t projects that raise awareness of social justice issues.
An AVODAH corps member storying with kids. Photo provided by AVODAH. issue thirteen 2011
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