story without feeling learning was happening at my expense. I also thought, “It would be awesome to take this class but with more people that look like me.” Eventually I reached out to Sue and she immediately supported the idea, advocating to the Flynn to create this class and have me teach it.


“AFTER THE CLASS I ASKED SUE, ‘WE HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO TELL A STORY? HOW DO YOU TALK ABOUT RACISM IN FIVE MINUTES TO A WHITE AUDIENCE?’”


Flynn: Leading up to the first class you taught, what was it like?


FPM: As we started planning with the Flynn staff, I was struck by the creative license I had. The Flynn was being intentional in supporting how to make this class successful.


For the first class, I had crystals, books, snacks, and fresh flowers to create a space that gave good energy to folx versus being like, “Wow, that took so much from me.” It was fun; it was healing; it was that heart work. Such unapologetic truth that was happening among us because we didn’t have to worry about learning happening at our expense. People would share something and it wasn’t like “You sure that happened?” or “No way!”


It was like “Of course!” We were affirming people: I see you, I hear you. It was more than about storytelling. It was about liberating voices.


Flynn: What did it feel like after the class?


FPM: I am still riding the energy of our Story Slam! I’d been hearing the students’ stories in class, but to see them perform on the Flynn Space stage was so magical, beautiful, and empowering. Afterwards, folx were coming up to talk to us about our stories. Or days later, saying “Ferene, my partner and I went home and we just like sat with everything that we heard; it didn’t leave us.” That’s what I want. I think as a person of color, you’re like, “I need my narrative to just stay with you. I need it to go beyond this moment we had, for that hour.”


Flynn: What’s next for you?


FPM: This class reunited me with a part of myself I had lost touch with. The art of storytelling, creating space for folx to be vulnerable and share aspects of themselves, has always been a part of my core. So for me, the storytelling does not stop here. I feel like it has a vibrant place in our community in so many other ways. The fire ignited for me around storytelling is so bright! I don’t want to just wait for a class to be a storyteller. We can storytell at meals, school, checking in with one another, events, and more! There’s room for it in so many different ways in our life. I just want people to breathe it in more.


The Voices of Color Through Storytelling


group at their Story Slam: “I’m still riding the energy of that night,” said Ferene. “To see them perform on the Flynn Space stage was so magical, beautiful, and empowering.”


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