Telling Our Stories...Saving Our Lives

Presented by 651 ARTS, Telling Our Stories...Saving Our Lives: The Power of Healing in Storytelling is an interactive panel discussion and audience Q&A featuring Black women writers exploring storytelling as an act of healing and a portal to restoration and reclamation - of our narratives, our power, and of ourselves.

What happens when Black women claim the authority to tell their own stories? How does storytelling become a tool for healing - both personal and collective? This conversation brings together writers and artists whose work centers Black women’s lives, experiences, and creative voices. Together, they will reflect on the impact of works written by and about Black women, and explore storytelling as a neural intervention, a pathway toward restoration, and a powerful act of reclamation. Through discussion and audience engagement, the panel will consider:

• How storytelling can serve as a source of personal and communal healing
• The importance of expanding how Black women are represented on stage and screen
• Moving beyond the limited “tropes” that too often define Black women characters
• The creative processes that shape more complex, nuanced portrayals of Black women’s lives

Audience members are invited into the conversation through an interactive Q&A.

Goldie E. Patrick
Writer, Director, and Cultural Worker

Antu Yacob
Writer, Actor, Producer, and Director

Lisa Rosetta Strum
Playwright, Director, Actor, Singer, and Educator
Carolyn Michelle Smith
Actress, Educator, and Producer

Cynthia Grace Robinson, Moderator
Playwright, producer, and founder of The Magnolia Play Project.

The Magnolia Play Project, founded by award-winning playwright Cynthia Grace Robinson, is a creative movement dedicated to amplifying, elevating, and celebrating the voices and works of Black women storytellers. The symbolism of magnolias in relation to Black womanhood reflects a depth of beauty and strength that has been reclaimed and redefined. A magnolia’s ability to bloom beautifully despite harsh conditions mirrors the fortitude of Black women who have persevered with nobility, vulnerability, and courage. Launched in October 2025, The Magnolia Play Project debuted its first program, Storytellers Speak, a video interview series featuring Black women writers and centering their artistic perspectives—voices and viewpoints often excluded from the traditional literary canon. The project was created from Robinson’s desire to use her platform as a playwright to advocate for and amplify Black women writers of every generation, creating space for them to speak candidly about their work, their processes, and the power of the stories they choose to tell. When Black women tell their own stories, the result is work rich with characters who are nuanced, complex, and fully human—rather than the thinly developed “tropes” so frequently seen on stage and screen.

Since its founding in 1988, 651 ARTS has become a trusted convener of contemporary African Diasporic artistic expression, a champion and nurturer for emerging artists and their work, and a vital cultural resource for its surrounding community. As it moves forward, part of 651 ARTS’ mission is to preserve the legacy of Black culture in Brooklyn, celebrate the eclecticism of Black performance, and to pioneer new visions of African Diaspora artists. This year – the transition year – is integral for the institution as it continues to lay the framework that will further help to reinforce 651 ARTS’ role as a leader of African Diasporic culture while also establishing it as an incubator for artistic innovation in the 21st century.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

651 ARTS, 10 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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