The project and exhibit “A View From the Front Porch” was designed to celebrate Flint’s sesquicentennial through collecting, sharing and preserving the stories of neighborhoods over Flint’s 150-year history. The purpose was to share the history of Flint neighborhoods by collecting and telling neighborhood stories from past and present residents. Our primary means of collecting these stories was through the Story Circle process used by John O’Neal and the Color Line Project. The Brimstone Grant provided an opportunity for us to train others to facilitate story circles. Our vision was for stories to be told daily throughout neighborhoods, in churches, schools and other places where people gather.

We were able to conduct four story circle facilitation trainings and to train 25 residents. During the grant period from January to December 2005, we facilitated and recorded 45 story circles with over 500 people of all ages and races. During the exhibit period of July 1 to December 31, 2005 nearly 15,000 people have visited the Front Porch exhibit, viewed story circle recordings and listened to live storytelling performances.

For the purpose of reporting on the Brimstone Grant we will highlight activities and events that involved training local citizens in the art of storytelling, story gathering, and assisting residents in sharing their stories in the Front Porch exhibit and community gallery. Over the course of the past year trainings were held for story circle facilitation, oral history interviewing and storytelling.

Numerous opportunities were made available for the present and past residents to share their story. The project provided venues for storytelling and story collecting with people of different generations. We began with inviting people to the Sloan Museum to participate in story circles and to become trained as facilitators and interviewers. It was the vision of the project that eventually story circles would be occurring throughout the city and county. Alfreda Harris was the main facilitator along with trained camerapersons.

In March 2005, anticipating artistic involvement with "A view From the Front Porch", we offered a series of workshop facilitated by concurrent community engagement project group, Liz Lehrman Dance Exchange. This workshop series was called “Bringing Art to the Front Porch”. Three (3) two hour workshops that included story movement, critical response of the storytelling process, and from story to performance. Over twenty (20) people attended these workshops.

The first venue outreach was with the Sylvester Broome Center. Beginning in October 2004 two groups of youth: Teen Empowerment Commission (TEC) and the Flint Genesee Job Corps Wellness Committee met weekly with the Front Porch coordinator for a four-month period. During that time they became trained as story circle facilitators and participants and oral history interviewers. Initially, the youth told their own stories and later they interviewed community elders. The groups’ purpose was to collect stories from the Broome Center residents and surrounding community. Over 30 youth participated in this phase of the project and during the spring of 2005 the youth interviewed elders, transcribed and presented the stories.

In the summer of 2005, the Broome Center and the Sloan Museum again partnered in the project. Alfreda Harris as storyteller and Jim Berry as photographer became artist-in-residents. The Amistad Academy Horticulture program took place over a two-month period where over 75 community youth between the ages of 14 – 18 were engaged in a work-study project. "A View From the Front Porch" was allowed to participant as part of a fine arts component for 24 youth. With theater, dance, storytelling and photography. A final presentation was made on August 18, 2005.

Another opportunity was the connection of nine (9) current sixth grade Pierce Elementary students and Kearsley Elementary School alumni. The two groups met and participated a story circle. Later the Pierce students interviewed and transcribed stories from elders. They walked the neighborhood where 50 years earlier, Kearsley Street had been the alumni’s neighborhood. The youth were given cameras to document the experience and to create stories through the eyes of present day. With great enthusiasm, the youth were acquiring skills transferable through interviewing and interpreting stories. The nine youth performed their stories in a drama at their sixth grade commencement in June.

Churches provided the opportunity to hear and to gather stories from the faith community. For example, Quinn Chapel African Methodist Episcopal A.M.E. Church is the oldest African American congregation in Flint. The church was established in 1875 in the home of founding member, Nancy West. Over the 130 years they have had three church buildings that were made into models by a senior high school student. To honor this long legacy of stories and the church’s contribution to the community, we invited them to become part the Front Porch Community Gallery. In August, I met with 10 members of the historical committee and church auxiliaries to conduct a story circle. The committee then gathered supporting photos and historical documents. In November, the stories of Quinn Chapel A.M.E. were featured in the Community Gallery at Sloan Museum. The story circle tape was edited and viewed on monitor. The church models and other historical documentation became the centerpiece for storytelling on Quinn Chapel special day. On November 19th the church held a celebration at the museum to commemorating 130 years of church, stories and community.

Resident homes became another venue for telling and collecting stories. Several families and residents from the same neighborhood invited us to come. We would facilitate and record a story circle at each opportunity. Those who attended always brought photos and other prompts to enhance their storytelling and memories.

In July 2005, Sloan Museum and Front Porch collaborated with the Flint Public Library and the Michigan Storytelling Festival. Rex Ellis, storyteller and historian presented a workshop, Using Primary Sources to Teach History Through Storytelling. The workshop was given at Sloan Museum and attended by nearly 100 people.

In December 2005, A View From the Front Porch hosted a Shopping in Downtown Holiday Tea with a lunch reminiscent of the 1950’s. Storyteller, C.J. Stanford performed “Stories of Shopping in Downtown Flint 1950’s” based in part on the three (3) shopping in downtown story circles she attended. On a snowy day with schools and many businesses closed, twenty (20) people came out to attend the tea.

Many steps have been taken to disseminate information about the project. These steps include the following:

How did we advance the art of professional storytelling? We reawakened the oral tradition in Flint. Many failed to talk about neighborhoods in a positive way, until now. Recorded for next generation to see and hear. How has Flint been perceived? People now view the institution with more openness, as a gathering place where they can tell their stories.

Storytelling as a community engagement tool empowers local citizens in a way I never fully realized possible. I am totally committed to further storytelling as a vehicle for community engagement as a result. I see new hope for Flint thorough the eyes, memories and stories of the people who live here. Through this project, I received affirmation and confirmation of storytelling as my true calling. Over time I’ve begun to think more globally about stories and how they reinforce purpose to make a difference in my community. This project has been successful because it’s a series of stories.

Families have made connections with each other in realizing we all have a story to tell. I’ve enjoyed seeing multiple generations view the exhibit, listen to the stories, look at the photos, play with toys and share stories of another time. Community as well as family stories are being preserved as a result of this project. This community engagement has a much validity and value as the collecting of slave narratives and Appalachian stories during WPA. Through the preservation and perpetuation of flint neighborhood stories, people in the bicentennial year, 2055 and beyond will know about flint and the people who lived here.

There will always be a place for stories. I learned that for a lot of our youth today, the cell phone provides a story vehicle. While for others it will always be the front porch, the kitchen table or the car seat. Whether they are whole or fragmented stories, many people in neighborhoods past and present all trying to make sense out of their lives in the telling of stories.

The Community Gallery was a major part of the project. The question was how to reflect community within the space we allowed. With a slow start the gallery blossomed and came to be a true representation of Flint’s community. In the beginning the story of what community meant within the context of space dedicated to be reflected in a Front Porch Gallery.

Stories came in oral histories such as Armando’s story. Armando Fernandez is a local artist who paints murals that reach into the soul. We interviewed him and invited him to participate in the Front Porch Community Gallery. He told the story of why he does what he does. His story documents non-fiction storytelling.

At the farewell to front porches five flint residents told their stories on the front porch after participating in story circle(s) and being trained as storytellers. They are all natural storytellers who tell with passion.

As people arrived at the opening Celebration in July, it was as if I were playing life played in reverse. So many people who had participated in story circles returned. The telling of a story gives testimony to life in a larger picture of Flint.

With all the work we’d done at the Broome Center, it was only natural that the Broome Center would showcase in the community gallery. In October, nearly 200 people attended a performance/presentation of storytelling, student art, rhythm stepping dance and theater.

My advice to someone wishing to replicate this project would be to take time to plan, remember that quality is as important as quantity, cultivate good community relationships, purchase good equipment and work in smaller scale.

It’s crucial to take time to plan and cultivate relationships within the community. A project of this size requires the involvement of many people. We were collecting stories about an entire city from past and present residents. We barely touched on the possible stories within the past year and a half of the project. More paid staff would have been an asset. However, in lieu of paid staff it is essential to build a network of working committees and committed volunteers. Though we advertised for volunteers, it took time for people to understand the project and want to get involved. This effort requires maintaining and managing volunteers. However, we were fortunate to be able to tap our Flint Cultural Center Corporation’s pool of volunteers for special events. If we were to do it again, we might look to creating multiple internship components.

The visual of tax assessment photos of actual Flint neighborhoods was so riveting for people. They were powerful story prompts, because you could stand and witness a person going back in time to a house and neighborhood where they once lived. Once a person has their own story told, they are eager to share the story of others. People would return again to share the telling of story through oral and visual with others.

During the fall, we had an opportunity to take three panels of photos with us to the Easy Street story circle. We edited video and gave cameras to kids who created space for stories. This all set the stage for enhancing the Community Gallery. The becomes a traveling front porch, a means of storytelling in improvisation.

When storyteller, CJ Stanford took she all heard about downtown shopping from three (3) downtown story circles. She was able to retell it as a performance.

There have been so many ways in which to evaluate and measure the success of this project. To name a few of the ways: Attendance over the course of the exhibit and especially in the past two weeks when people have heard about the exhibit and have come especially to see the exhibit, photos and hear the stories. Through observation as people venture through the exhibit we watch reactions and expressions. Photo wall panels, families playing games together, video tapped stories. Through written response evaluations and a comments book at end exhibit. Audio comments have been recorded during special events.

This has been an informal gerontology study as past and present residents have looked back at their life with renewed hope and vision. We’ve been privileged to share in the story observation and storytelling of others.