Unashamed of Hope: The Power of the Untold Stories Project

only be human together.”

Krapf immediately recognized its relevance. “That told me we all have to get together and listen to one another,” she says. “Because the answers are with all of us together, not separate.”

The idea turned into an online storytelling event conducted over Zoom. Krapf describes the events as tentative, an experiment. Both storytellers and audiences enjoyed the personal stories program. When shutdown regulations receded, the concept reached its full incarnation as the Untold Stories of a Storied People project.

Phase One of the project began last year. A total of eight storytellers gathered from four NJ communities, Jersey City, Morristown, New Brunswick, and Trenton, to prepare for in-person performances. The project focused on people with profound life experiences whose stories had not been heard so those stories could be elevated and amplified.

One of those storytellers was Ron Ritzie, a lifelong resident of Morristown who has watched his childhood community change over the years. An accomplished artist, continued on page 7

By Chip M. O’Brien

What’s the point of storytelling?

What are stories for?

In early 2020, these questions held dire importance for the nonprofit organization Storytelling Arts, Inc. Before 2020, it had focused on bringing programs about folk tales to schools throughout NJ. Now the pandemic had shut down schools across the state.

Faced with an existential threat, Storytelling Arts questioned its core mission. “We had to ask ourselves, in times of Black Lives Matter and COVID-19, are folktales the most relevant way to use storytelling?” remembers Linda Helm Krapf, Executive Director of Storytelling Arts. “Or is it time for us to begin thinking about personal stories?”

The idea for a new direction came from an unexpected source. Krapf’s last flight before the COVID shutdown took her through the Denver Airport, where she spied a Desmond Tutu quote on a poster. It read, “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can