Decoration only: White text reads “STORIES INVINCIBLE” against a black background with a yellow subheading that reads “Transformative narratives from the City of Camden.”

‘Stories Invincible’ initiative aims to elevate restorative narratives in Camden, New Jersey

Reet Starwind
Center for Cooperative Media
5 min readJun 6, 2022

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From afar and for far too long, the City of Camden, N.J., has been defined by its night sky — an irrefutable reputation as one of the country’s most dangerous and impoverished cities.

Camden’s residents are rarely portrayed in the media in the same way they see themselves and their communities. Much in the way that true journalism must always come from the heart of a story, the story of any city is always within the heart of its people. Those close enough to Camden know that what truly defines the city is an unshakable, unmistakable, “invincible” spirit — and that is the story that needs to be told.

That’s why the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University is excited to launch “Stories Invincible,” a new initiative to support restorative narrative reporting by and for communities of color in South Jersey. Stories Invincible aims to highlight stories from Camden-based journalists and media makers that fill information gaps and serve as symbols of hope — and unite those who tell those stories for a transformative community experience.

The program is supported by a subgrant from the Community Info Coop in partnership with the Movement Alliance Project, thanks to original funding from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the New Jersey Local News Lab Fund, a partnership between Dodge, Democracy Fund and the Community Foundation of New Jersey.

A similar effort to support storytelling in Camden was started by WCMD Radio early in the COVID-19 pandemic with coordinating support from Free Press and the Community Info Coop, but ultimately was not able to move forward. Our new iteration aims to incubate a project that more so follows the playbook of Stories of Atlantic City.

I was thrilled to become involved with the project, as the message behind it is personal to me. I’m a Camden-area activist, artist and instructor, serving as creative director of the local non-profit Watu Moja. I’ve had the honor of bringing people together for artistic expression, acts of civil unrest, rallying behind local Black businesses and hosting cultural celebrations.

Having had the pleasure of seeing so many faces of a city whose identity continues to shape and mold, I understand the city and know that its people have a distinct voice. I want to help make sure their many echoes of it are not only heard but sung together in chorus.

In 2020, uprisings sparked in wake of George Floyd’s murder by a police officer resulted in the Camden County Police Department becoming darlings in the national media for its reformation program. However, that narrative was false, widely misused in the debate over police reform, and did not speak in the voice of many Camden residents.

Shortly thereafter, I helped organize a response from the residents, one particularly penned by the heart of the city’s artists. In that case and in Stories Invincible, telling the right stories and telling them the right way is our top priority.

Launching this project

Stories Invincible will kick off with two community convenings discussing information needs in Camden and how restorative narrative practices could help meet them. After that, we’ll open a call for submissions for Camden-based journalists and media makers to apply for fellowship funding from a pool of $40,000 to support projects that will address our city’s information needs, and uplift stories of resilience and hope. The Center hosted a similar funding opportunity in Newark in 2019.

The dates and locations for the community convenings will be announced in the coming weeks, along with more details about the paid fellowship opportunity. After the fellows are selected, I’ll be available throughout the summer and fall to provide guidance, coaching, and other type of support for the fellows and their work.

After the initial phase of the fellowship is complete, members of the public will be invited to attend an event to showcase the reporting produced as a result of the fellowship.

If you live in or are from Camden and have a story about the city and its people that needs to be told, click here to sign up for updates. You’ll be among the first to know when we finalize the dates and times for the community collaboration events and open applications for the fellowships.

Reet Starwind is the Stories Invincible project coordinator for the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University. He is an artist, educator, and organizer in the Camden area working with the Center to elevate restorative narratives about Camden’s residents and history. Contact Reet via email at reet@storiesinvincible.org or on Instagram at @mrstarwind.

About the Center for Cooperative Media: The Center is a grant-funded program of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. Its mission is to grow and strengthen local journalism, and in doing so serve New Jersey residents. The Center is supported with funding from Montclair State University, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Democracy Fund, the New Jersey Local News Lab (a partnership of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Democracy Fund, and Community Foundation of New Jersey), and the Abrams Foundation. For more information, visit CenterforCooperativeMedia.org.

Special thanks to Simon Galperin of the Community Info Coop and Vanessa Maria Graber of Free Press for helping to coordinate the logistics and funding aspects leading up to the launch of this project.

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Reet Starwind
Center for Cooperative Media

Reet Starwind is an artist, educator & organizer in the Camden area working with the Center to elevate restorative narratives about Camden’s residents