News

8 New Oral History Lesson Plans for Inclusive Education
Recent legislative efforts in states across the country aim to prohibit classroom discussions of racism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression. In the face of these book bans and educational gag orders, there is a …


Navigating Democracy: Resistance and Belonging through Storytelling
At Voice of Witness (VOW), we’re exploring a new thematic approach to our work. Selecting a theme each year, we’ll create public programming, events, and resources, share relevant stories from our archive, and collaborate with …


A Sonic Tablecloth: Sharing Place-Based Stories of Food and Community
We’re excited to announce that Voice of Witness has been awarded a Creative Work Fund grant to develop our new project, Setting the Table: Stories of Food and Belonging. The grant supports community organizations collaborating …


New Storytelling Project: Unhoused Neighbors Speak Out
Voice of Witness (VOW) spent the past year meeting with grassroots groups, organizers, and advocates to hear directly from communities impacted by injustice about what stories most need to be told to disrupt harmful narratives …


The Role of Art in Storytelling and Activism: An Interview with Lacy Hale
Art is a powerful tool for social impact and can support activism, resistance, representation, dialogue, and community building.  In Voice of Witness books, each oral history is accompanied by a portrait illustration of the narrator. …


2024 Workshop Series: Oral History Storytelling Skills and Ethics
Storytelling is a powerful way to build community and advance justice through education and advocacy. Building on 15+ years of experience, Voice of Witness (VOW) has developed an ethics-driven oral history methodology that documents first-person …


New VOW Book Amplifies Oral Histories of Community and Migration in Appalachia, Disrupting Harmful Stereotypes
Beginning Again: Stories of Movement and Migration in Appalachia launches on June 20th! The latest in the Voice of Witness book series, Beginning Again is edited by Katrina Powell with a foreword from Nikki Giovanni. …


Exploring California History Through Intergenerational Storytelling
This year, Voice of Witness was able to expand the scope and impact of our ongoing intergenerational storytelling project with middle school students and elders. As in previous years, multilingual learners from Willie Brown Middle …