Tell Me Who You Are

Tell Me Who You Are

Adult nonfiction IT
"We started off in Anchorage, Alaska, in July 2017 and finished
in Charloyyesville, Virginia in February 2018. During our travels we
collected over 500 stories. We asked everyone, How has race, culture,
or intersectionality impacted your life? The responses were
astonishing. These identities had so significantly shaped the lives
of the people we spoke to that if often felt as if we had asked them,
Tell me who you are."
In their 10th grade history class Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi
were very impressed when their WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant)
teacher started a discussion of race following Eric Garner's death.
He wanted the students to get past the taboo nature of race talk by
conversing with people in and out of school. They collected hundreds
of stories from people they knew and total strangers. They shared the
stories on social media.
Only the stories they collected came mostly from central New
Jersey and New York City. These stories couldn't represent the
entirity of America. Although they'd been accepted at Ivy League
schools, Guo and Vulchi put higher education on hold, traveling around
America unescorted collecting stories which you can discover in their
Tell Me Who You Are.
Along with the narratives, there are explanations and histories
of pivotal concepts and fun facts about the story tellers. There are
pictures of most of them.
Academic people are often disdainful when it comes to what they
call anecdotes. They say that to get at the truth you need numbers,
statistics, and carefully controlled studies. This is probably fine
for chemistry. But you understand another human being at a deeper
level when you listen to their story with an open mind and heart.
So here's what I want you to do. Read the book. Then ask the
people in your world to tell you their stories. Maybe include a few
with whom you don't seem to have much in common. You never know where
this can lead.
On a purrrsonal note, I had a different New Years Eve. Eugene didn't
get to enjoy it. Maine being newly blanketed with the white stuff, he
had to be out plowing the second night in a row. Luckily I fit into
Tobago's party plans which were to cuddle near the tree. At one point
someone set off fireworks in the trailer park. Tobago, who a little
over a week earlier panicked at a door closing, ran to the window--in
the direction of the noise--and watched the display. She has come so
far in so little time!
I've decided I'm on adoption maternity leave instead of study fest
over vaca. I want to help my new sweet kitty feel as happy and secure
as possible by the time spring semester rolls around.
I'm amazed by how well Eugene and Tobago have bonded. I've never
before seen my partner so engaged with a cat. That little 8 lb cat
has changed the whole household configuration.
Great big shout outs go out to Eugene and Tobago with great
anticipation for the joys 2020 holds in store for us.
jules hathaway



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