The power of sharing your story

[Music]

start walking out

until the lion tells the tale the hunt

will always glorify the hunter

i think about that quote a lot when i

visit a bookstore

watch a movie look at a magazine or

listen to a talk what i’ve come to

realize

is that not everyone’s story is told

throughout history

not everyone has been given a chance to

talk about who they are

where they’re from or tell their story

either from not having economic access

racism sexism or class barriers many

people are not heard

because of this an incomplete history

has been written

growing up i was a huge reader and i

don’t remember any stories that reflect

in my

life there weren’t any tv shows that

looked like me

or lived how i lived if you didn’t know

any better

you would think that folks like myself

didn’t exist

when we don’t see ourselves in the media

arts or everyday life

that sends a message that we don’t

matter and what we have experienced

doesn’t matter nobel prize winner

and author tony morrison once said if

there’s a book you want to read

but hasn’t been written yet you must

write it

so i deal with any shy slightly nerdy

kid who wanted to be seen would do

i began writing when i started writing

and talking about who i was it was so

freeing so powerful it felt like i

climbed to the mountain top and yelled

here i am i was putting my flag up

and making people aware of my life i

then realized i want to

i have to encourage others who are not

seen and heard

to do so representation is powerful

it’s incredibly impactful when you see

someone that looks like you comes from a

place like you

and talks like you that can have a

profound effect on you

i remember when i received an email

about an essay i wrote from this guy

he said reading about my experience as a

black man touched him

and made him feel seen my story made him

feel

validated like he was not alone

i realized that that was not an isolated

incident

from there i understood the power of

sharing my story

dictionary.com defines innovation as

something new

or different introduced and i cannot

think of anything

more innovative than giving everyone a

chance a place or a platform

in which to share their story when you

share your story

a domino effect starts a new perspective

gets out

which shows a different point of view

which shows another side of life

which allows a new voice to be heard it

builds up on each other it keeps going

and going until

boom the whole world looks different

this is real diversity real equity not

just showing up and being a number that

fills a quota

when everyone has a say everyone has

power

now someone who loves learning about

different things and i reckon i’m not

the only one here

hearing a new perspective can enhance

our lives

think about what it’s like to hear from

people that immigrated to this country

that didn’t come through ellis island

the lives of black trans folks

women coal miners in kentucky the

challenges of people being released from

prison

from their point of view another facet

of innovation

is that when everyone is heard new ideas

and concepts are born

ignorance fades away and understanding

appears in his place

telling your story can change the world

don’t believe me okay think about how

life would be if five young guys from

liverpool

didn’t get together and talk about their

experiences

or if another fab five cube dre easy

yelling wren straight out of compton

didn’t talk about police brutality where

they’re from

what would our experiences be like if a

young cesar chavez didn’t rise up from

human arizona and talk about the latino

farm worker movement

how would we view the personal horror of

the holocaust if anne frank didn’t write

her diary

and we didn’t get a chance to read it

what would music today be like if folks

from the shoals

didn’t get down and let themselves be

heard would musicians and bands play

with that same soul they have today

or for me personally if elhaj malik

el-shabazz

didn’t sit down with alex haley and

write the autobiography of malcolm x the

most

influential book i’ve ever read

in the year 2020 there are more ways to

tell your story besides

writing a book their social media

post about yourself on facebook talk

about who you are on linkedin

tell people about yourself on twitter

and shoot a short video on instagram

there are more than 244 million people

in the united states that use social

media

and by 2023 that number can be up to 257

million

you can start a podcast there are over

750 000 shows out there

there’s vlogs on youtube virtual reality

and augmented reality

the point is there are more ways to put

your stamp down

and let people know you were here

right now there are about 7.7 billion

people on this planet

this world is a multicultural place made

up of different people places and events

so much is going on and it’s not being

talked about

think about if everybody got a chance to

talk about who they are

two years ago i was invited to appear at

the first

tedx wilson park giving a ted talk was

one of my life’s biggest goals

i remember when i heard sir ken robinson

talk about

education when he said we need an

education

revolution and not an evolution that

just blew me away i was like wow

i remember when i was talking to my

lovely speech coach

mary marshall and i was on the phone

with her i was like

maybe martial is this really happening

am i really going to give a tedx

she’s like yes laurent this is really

happening you’re really going to give a

tedx

i can’t do her uh her accent very well

but it’s okay

when i came to dress rehearsal and i saw

the tedx sign i was like

wow it was just so big just that’s when

i really knew

it got real you know here i am

a man from south side kansas city 63rd

street

with a stutter on stage telling my story

two years later i’m back on this stage

back on the red dot

encouraging you to tell your story

isn’t it beautiful how life just comes

full circle right

i teach a creative writing class at the

san francisco county jail

people have a view of folks locked up as

not smart

evil angry and lazy but i can tell you

firsthand that is not correct

the men i listen to and work with are

smart very talented

and have something to say the main thing

that i drop home in my students is this

your story matters and you need to be

the one telling it because if you don’t

it won’t be told or even worse

it won’t be told the right way

in 2017 while i was in new york i got a

chance to see the tony award-winning

broadway musical dear evan hansen in the

show

there was these lines that hit home

don’t worry i’m not going to try to sing

them

no one deserves to be forgotten no one

deserves to fade away

no one should come and go and have no

one know he was

ever even here no one deserves

to disappear if you don’t tell your

story

you don’t exist it doesn’t matter where

you’re from

how much money you have or where you

went to school we all

need to be heard so put the pen to the

pad

grab that microphone turn on that camera

and go thank you

you