Kingston nonprofit fosters communal healing through art
Racial justice may have gained a new national platform in recent months, but it’s nothing new to Kingston-based nonprofit organization TMI Project. Their annual Black Stories Matter series followed its usual trajectory this year, with the culminating event taking place Feb. 25, at the tail end of Black History Month.
Founded in 2010, the TMI Project has been a space for local Black creatives to share their work, inspiring personal and communal healing through art — specifically, the art of storytelling.
“Each time I tell my story on TMI, no matter which one it is, it means different things, because I’m at different points in my life,” said Jessieca McNabb, a storyteller and guest host who’s been involved with the TMI Project for nearly 7 years now. “So every time I read my story, it’s like I’m reading it for the first time…again.”
McNabb was asked to host the Feb. 25 event, a virtual storytelling and discussion night. The Black Stories Matter series has been going on for several years prior to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020. It has always sought to showcase Black artists, facilitate healing, and promote discussion about the Black experience.
“[The series] is staying true to form, but there’s a bigger spotlight on it because of the changes the country is going through right now,” McNabb said. “Everybody gets involved in the movement in their own way. I feel like this is some people’s way of being able to get their information out and deal with what they have to deal with in their lives — through TMI.”
The evening’s event, which took place over Zoom, featured two storytellers and a guest speaker, local history teacher Albert Cook.
Cook valued the platform to discuss racial justice, a topic he regularly broaches in his classroom. “I have found that my students have been especially responsive and interested in the class discussions on racial justice,” he said. “The interest and engagement has been very strong and palpably relevant to them.”
He believed that, if any young people were in attendance, the stories shared would be influential in their journeys of self-education and self-reflection. The two stories, written and read by staple TMI contributors Dara Lurie and Micah, centered around an overnight experience in a slave-dwelling cellar as part of a workshop in 2017. Though emotionally taxing, both stories were hopeful in message, turning to the art of dance and music to connect with ancestors and draw strength from their experiences.
“I say amen for my ancestors. Amen,” Micah said at the end of his piece. “I say amen tonight for those of us who will use our voices to affect change. Amen.”
Then the discussion portion of the night began, in which Cook facilitated conversation about possible courses of action and the implications of these shared experiences. Audience participation was enthusiastic, with frequent comments of agreement and gratitude populating the chatbox.
The event was just one of over 100 workshops designed for this sort of communal recognition of racial injustice, a tradition that is slated to continue for years to come with TMI. Performances by over 2,000 storytellers to a collective audience of over 100,000 continue to promote healing and inspire change — not just in the wake of national movements, nor in the month of February, but all the time.
“Happy end of Black History Month,” McNabb said at the end of the evening. “But not really, because we do it 365. And it’s just going to be American history, soon enough.”
For more information about the TMI Project, visit their website here, or view a recording of their most recent event here.
