digital divide network - article database

For women of color, violence – intimate, institutional, and/or political -- is a routine occurrence that shapes their lives, relationships, and dreams. In the case of young women of color, immigrants, and lesbian/bisexual/ transgender women, violence is often exacerbated by experiences of political repression in countries of origin or language barriers; heterosexism as well as homo/transphobia; and ageism and insensitivity to youth culture. The pain of violence can lead women to struggle with their roles as sisters, daughters, mothers, lovers, and wives within fractured, impoverished communities. The lasting effects of violence can also severely curtail the ability of victims to participate successfully in education and training, achieve economic self-sufficiency, and engage with cultural and political life. Research and the evolving practices of mental health and community based practitioners makes it clear that long-term healing from violence is dependent upon creating opportunities for survivors to make their stories known. Recognizing the timeliness and importance of engaging women and girls of color in the development of multimedia-based strategies for mobilizing against violence, the Oakland-based, women of color founded and run non-profit Third World Majority (TWM) has created Silence Speaks. Our program, which brings the voices of women and girls of color to the forefront of violence prevention and social justice efforts, offers violence survivors, witnesses, and prevention advocates the support, skills, and equipment they need to create original multimedia pieces of courage and survival. Through community screenings, we then use these stories to encourage local residents and groups to get involved in prevention. The Digital Storytelling Workshop Experience Silence Speaks digital storytelling workshops integrate aspects of creative writing, oral history, and facilitative filmmaking to assist women and girls in recounting their experiences as short “digital stories.” Our workshops both bridge the digital divide and offer participants a separate, intimate space for personal exploration and collective healing. We define violence broadly -- stories created in our workshops have focused on intimate partner and family abuse; hate violence and racism; and the effects of institutional violence, political repression, and war -- as a way of fostering a consciousness among participants that the issues are intimately and deeply connected. Using a traveling Macintosh laptop lab, we bring diverse groups together in community settings where they feel comfortable learning new skills and creating their own stories. A workshop looks something like this: In preparation, each participant is asked beforehand to draft a one and one-half page narrative (approximately 500 words); select background music on CD-ROM; collect short video clips; and assemble flat images (photographs, letters, clippings, drawings, artwork, etc.) to scan. The workshop begins with an introductory presentation/discussion on fundamentals of storytelling. Next, participants share their scripts in the time honored and sacred context of a story circle. This allows them to connect their own personal experiences with the collective experience of the group, building solidarity by revealing that participants are not alone -- that violence affects everyone. In the afternoon, participants are guided through a PhotoShop tutorial, after which they are assisted with scanning of source material, sizing and touching up of material in PhotoShop, capturing soundtrack audio, and recording a voiceover narrative. Throughout the day, time is allowed for instructors and participants to share and respond to story ideas, offer support and validation, and address any emotional issues or concerns that emerge. The second day of the workshop starts with a Premiere tutorial. Following the tutorial, participants move into initial construction of their stories. On the third day, participants continue story production and editing and explore special effects for their work. By the end of the three-day workshop, participants have completed second and final edits of their stories, with appropriate titles, sound levels, and transitions. Each workshop concludes with a presentation of the stories, with ample time and opportunity for the storytellers to celebrate their accomplishments. Completed post-production stories are sent to participants along with CD-ROM and VHS copies of the finished work. Silence Speaks is as far as we know the only program that is doing digital storytelling work on behalf of survivors and witnesses of violence against women, particularly women of color. The program can be distinguished from more general types of digital storytelling work in several ways. First, in bringing women and girls of color into workshops taught primarily by women of color, the program uses an intrinsically culturally specific and appropriate approach. We have a commitment to creating safe workshop spaces for adolescent and adult survivors of violence against women across boundaries of age, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, and religion. (Note: we make it very clear in our outreach process that Silence Speaks workshops are not appropriate for women currently in crisis, as their issues are beyond the scope of the digital storytelling experience. Through a self-assessment developed in consultation with a licensed therapist, interested participants determine whether they are at a point of readiness to share their story in the context of one of our workshops.) Secondly, the individual teaching work with participants is a facilitative process: we talk them through the steps they need to take to complete specific editing and production tasks. At all times, participants drive the mouse. Finally, one-on-one discussions with participants focus not only on technical concerns but also on how they are doing emotionally. While we are not trained therapists, most of us have personal experience with violence and in having struggled with our own healing and can offer support and empathy to students. Using Story for Media Organizing Gratuitous, sexualized, and violent representations of women pervade popular media in the United States and around the world, including the Internet. Mainstream media outlets continue to present melodramatic depictions of women -- primarily Caucasian -- plagued by current or past abuse. Few of these representations portray the enduring ability of women of color to integrate and survive histories of trauma, resist violence in the present, and weave beauty, power, and art into their inspiring work on behalf of prevention. For those films and videos that do celebrate the voices and survival skills of women and girls of color, finding screening venues that are truly accessible and community based is difficult. In this hostile media climate, TWM sees the creation of community friendly and accessible venues for screening Silence Speaks stories as a key component of the program. We believe that individual stories and the telling of personal truths have the power to illuminate the larger social story; that visual images have a critical role to play in raising awareness about violence against women of color and in validating the experiences of women who do not see themselves represented in mainstream media; and that telling and listening to such stories must be an integral part of any effort to stimulate collective action and catalyze civic engagement. In the two years that the program has been in existence, stories have screened at numerous violence prevention conferences, trainings, and community education events. Moving forward, we plan to continue working in close partnership with our storytellers to organize and carry out local community screening events. We would like these screenings to feature music, spoken word performances, showings of stories produced in Silence Speaks workshops, and opportunities for dialogue and public testimony about violence against women of color. Most importantly, we hope the screenings will facilitate discussions that can begin to shape local prevention advocacy agendas and map out steps for carrying these agendas forward. About Third World Majority TWM is a nonprofit media training and production resource center dedicated to the promotion of social and economic justice. Run by a collective of women of color and our allies, we are artists, writers, filmmakers, techies, violence prevention advocates, and organizers in our own communities. Our primary training methodology is grassroots digital storytelling, a workshop process originated by our “parent” organization, the Center for Digital Storytelling. Our explicit mission is to facilitate multimedia production and organizing within youth, women of color, and queer communities, thereby giving these groups ownership of their stories and an opportunity to reclaim themselves, their neighborhoods, and their broader communities.