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