On May 26th, seven women-identified oral history practitioners gathered for May’s PSN, Self-Care for Social Justice Oral Historians. Our sharing circled above a loving attention to our bodies and the ways in which they communicate their profound knowing to us. In the social justice and oral history communities in which many of us operate, the idea of caring for ourselves is regarded as an afterthought, internalized as secondary to “the real work”. 

The first thing that struck me about Listening through Time and Place: An Oral History Exhibit was the size of it. The information to wade in was both wide and deep. An average of four—and often more—five- to 10-minute excerpts of life history interviews featured in each of twelve exhibits may not sound overwhelming until you realize that each excerpt is designed as a gateway not just to that person’s life, but to an entire zeitgeist. 

On March 10th, 2016, twelve people participated in the PSN Chat titled "Success Stories: From Oral History to Social Change". Practitioners Alisa del Tufo, Manissa McCleave Maharawal, and Mark D. Naison shared their experiences in successfully engaging oral history in service of social justice. Here is a video report back of the chat.

Before you read further, please google the phrase East Garfield Park. Okay, aside from the ubiquitous Wiki entry, what did you find? Our guess is you saw mostly hits that involved crime and gentrification in some way. The mainstream dominant media portrays this community in the heart of Chicago’s West Side as crime ridden, poverty stricken, and little else.  East Garfield Park organizations and residents strive to rewrite this narrative.