[CLOSED CAPTIONING HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY CARDI'S FURNITURE AND MATTRESSES] + SOME -- >> GENERATIONS OF GENEROUS SOMEONE TO HAVE HELPED SHAPE RHODE ISLAND INTO THIS AMAZING PLACE WE CALL HOME.

HOW DO YOU THINK THEM?

BY LEAVING HER OWN LEGACY.

WE CAN HELP.

♪ >> WELCOME TO ANOTHER ADDITION OF IN ANOTHER OPINION, A PUBLIC INFORMATION PROGRAM WHERE DISCUSSIONS ARE FOCUSED ON COMMITTEES OF COLOR IN RHODE ISLAND.

I AM HOST, PETER WELLS.

MY GUEST TODAY IS VALERIE TUTSON, STORYTELLER, TV HOST, WORLD TRAVELER, BUSINESS PERSON, AND A NEW MOM.

THANKS FOR COMING ON THE SHOW.

VALERIE: THANK YOU.

IT IS GREAT TO BE WITH YOU, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE NOT EXACTLY TOGETHER.

PETER: BUT WE ARE, WE ARE IN SYNC.

VALERIE: ABSOLUTELY.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

PETER: IT IS A PLEASURE, BECAUSE YOU AND YOUR ORGANIZATION PROVIDE A VITAL FACT TO THE COMMUNITY, NOT ONLY HERE BUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

BEFORE I GET INTO THAT, YOU ARE NOT FROM RHODE ISLAND, I KNOW YOU WENT TO BROWN, WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

VALERIE: I AM FROM A SMALL TOWN CALLED NEW MILFORD, CONNECTICUT.

I SAY SMALL EVEN THOUGH IT IS THE BIG'S TOWN AREA WISE IN THE STATE.

IT IS THREE HOURS FROM HERE, BUT WHEN I WAS THROWING UP, THERE WERE LESS THAN 20,000 PEOPLE LIVING IN THE TOWN AND I LIVED THERE UNTIL I GRADUATED FROM NEW MILFORD HIGH SCHOOL AND CAME TO PROVIDENCE.

PETER: I WANT ASK YOU WHAT YOUR THAT WAS, BUT I WILL TELL YOU, I USED TO WORK FOR HUD AND NEW MILFORD, CONNECTICUT WAS ONE OF MY COMMUNITIES.

VALERIE: THAT IS CRAZY.

I LOVE IT.

I DON'T MIND TELLING PEOPLE WHEN I ARRIVED BECAUSE PROVIDENCE WAS A DIFFERENT PLACE THEN.

I GOT HERE IN 1983, SO PEOPLE CAN DO WHATEVER MATH THEY WANT TO, AND WHAT I LOVED ABOUT PROVIDENCE WAS THAT IT HAD THAT PERFECT COMBINATION OF THIS SMALL TOWN FEEL THAT I WAS COMFORTABLE IN, BUT IT WAS BEAUTIFULLY DIVERSE.

A WHOLE WORLD LIVES RIGHT HERE.

THAT IS WHAT CAPTURED MY HEART.

PETER: THAT IS TRUE.

LAST I HEARD FROM THE PROVIDENCE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT, DON'T QUOTE ME ON THIS, BUT I THINK I HEARD 47 LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN THE PROVIDENCE SCHOOL SYSTEM.

THAT IS UNBELIEVABLE.

ANYWAY, THAT IS RHODE ISLAND.

VALERIE: YES.

WELL, IT IS PROVIDENCE.

[LAUGHTER] PETER: ABSOLUTELY.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

LET ME ASK YOU THIS.

WHY STORYTELLING FOR YOU AS A VOCATION?

I AM CALLING IT A VOCATION, A CAREER.

VALERIE: YES.

VOCATION AND ADD VACATION.

FOR ME, THEY ARE LINKED BECAUSE IT IS MY PASSION.

I WAS FORTUNATE TO FALL INTO STORYTELLING AT THE TIME THAT I DID, WHICH IS WHAT ENABLED ME TO MAKE IT MY VOCATION.

WHEN I GOT TO PROVIDENCE, IT WAS KIND OF THE BEGINNING OF A NATIONAL STORYTELLING RENAISSANCE, MEANING THAT THERE WERE EDUCATORS, LIBRARIANS, CULTURAL HISTORIANS, ACTORS, PERFORMERS, EVERYBODY WAS STARTING TO REMEMBER THAT STORYTELLING IS VITAL FOR OUR EDUCATION, FOR OUR LITERACY, FOR OUR COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS, AND I ACTUALLY THOUGHT, AT THAT TIME, THAT I WAS GOING TO BE AN ENGLISH TEACHER WHO DIRECTED THE HIGH SCHOOL PLAY, BECAUSE I LOVE STORIES AND I LOVED DRAMA AND IN MY SMALL TOWN, AND AT THAT TIME, WHAT DID YOU DO IF YOU LOVED DRAMA AND STORIES?

YOU BECAME AN ENGLISH TEACHER.

BUT WHEN I GOT HERE -- RIGHT?

DOESN'T THAT MAKE SENSE?

PUTTING THE STORIES ON THE STAGE.

BUT I DID SEE MY FIRST PROFESSIONAL STORYTELLER IN MY HOMETOWN WHEN I WAS A SENIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL, THEN WHEN I CAME TO BROWN, THERE WERE THREE PROFESSIONAL STORYTELLERS IN THE UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE, BILL HARLEY, MARILYN MURPHY, THEN I SIGNED UP FOR A COURSE THAT WAS TAUGHT BY GEORGE HOUSTON BASS, WHO WAS THE PERSONAL SECRETARY TO LANGSTON HUGHES FOR FIVE YEARS, AND WHO CAME TO START BYTES AND RECENT THEATER AT BROWN, AND GEORGE WAS TEACHING A COURSE ON AFRO-AMERICAN FOLK TRADITIONS.

PETER: I REMEMBER.

VALERIE: YEAH, IT WAS REALLY -- SO THAT WAS MIND BLOWING FOR ME AND TOTALLY OPEN BE UP TO THE POWER OF STORYTELLING AND THE JOB THAT A STORYTELLER HAS IN COMMUNITY.

SO THAT KIND OF COMBINATION WITH SUPPORT IN SCHOOLS AND IN LIBRARIES, THEY WERE HIRING PEOPLE TO COME IN AND TELL STORIES, SO I WAS FORTUNATE, I DESIGNED MY OWN MAJOR AT BROWN CALLED STORYTELLING AS A COMMUNICATIONS ART, AND I GOT HRED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY SERVICES HERE IN RHODE ISLAND, SO WHEN MY PARENTS RELY, WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ARE GOING TO GET A JOB AS A STORYTELLER?

I DID, AND I JUST KEPT GETTING JOBS AS A STORYTELLER.

SO THAT IS KIND OF HOW IT HAS UNFOLDED.

PETER: HOW MAY STORYTELLERS ARE THERE INVOLVED IN YOUR ORGANIZATION, RHODE ISLAND STORYTELLERS?

VALERIE: THAT IS AN INTERESTING QUESTION BECAUSE WE HAVE PEOPLE INVOLVED ON DIFFERENT LEVELS.

WE HAVE ABOUT 10 OF US WHO WORK PROFESSIONALLY, MEANINGFUL TIME OR, YOU KNOW, GET PAID FAIRLY REGULARLY FOR THE WORK THAT WE DO.

THEN WE'VE GOT A BUNCH OF OTHER FOLKS WHO ARE INVOLVED ON OUR BOARD AND ON OUR COMMITTEES WHO ARE EDUCATORS OR WHO ALSO MIGHT TEACH DRAMA IN DIFFERENT PLACES AND SPACES, OR JUST -- WE'VE GOT SOCIAL WORKERS ON OUR GROUP, OUR COMMITTEE.

SO WE'VE GOT ABOUT 25 ACTIVE PEOPLE RIGHT NOW.

PETER: VERY GOOD.

I KNOW YOU DO STORYTELLING NOT ONLY IN RHODE ISLAND, BUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

YOU HAVE DONE IT IN EUROPE, HAVEN'T YOU?

VALERIE: I SURE HAVE, YES INDEED.

PETER: HOW WAS BLACK STORYTELLING RECEIVED IN EUROPE?

VALERIE: [LAUGHTER] WELL, GREAT, YOU KNOW?

THINK OF THE 1920'S, WHEN ALL OF OUR BLACK ARTISTS WERE OVER THERE IN FRANCE.

THERE IS DEFINITELY AN INTEREST AND A LOVE.

I GOT TO SPEND TIME TELLING STORIES IN GERMANY AND SWITZERLAND, WHICH WAS FANTASTIC.

FUNNY, WHEN I WENT TO SWITZERLAND, BECAUSE I STUDIED FRENCH IN HIGH SCHOOL, I THOUGHT, I'M GOING TO GET TO PRACTICE MY FRENCH, BUT I ENDED UP BEING IN THE SWISS PART, I MEAN THE GERMAN PART OF SWITZERLAND, SO THAT WAS TRICKY, BUT FUN, AND THEN FROM THERE, I SPENT MANY YEARS USING STORYTELLING AND DRAMA TECHNIQUES IN THE FORMER -- WELL, THE CZECH REPUBLIC.

I WOULD GO EVERY YEAR AND WORK WITH AN INTERNATIONAL GROUP OF KIDS USING STORYTELLING AND DRAMA TO MAKE CONNECTIONS, AS THE EAST AND WEST PARTS OF EUROPE WERE COMING TOGETHER, WHICH WAS EXCITING.

PETER: I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST ARRIVED, I DID NOT COME TO RHODE ISLAND UNTIL 1995.

WHEN I DID COME, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I SAW ON TV WAS VALERIE TUTSON AND CULTURAL TAPESTRY, AND I SAID, RHODE ISLAND IS VERY PROGRESSIVE.

I DID NOT THINK SO.

I GREW UP IN SPRINGFIELD AFTER NEW YORK, BUT I DID NOT REALIZE THAT PROVIDENCE WAS, AT THAT TIME, AS PROGRESSIVE AS IT WAS, HAVING A BLACK FEMALE ON TV TALKING ABOUT BLACK STORYTELLING.

IT REALLY TOOK ME ABACK.

I WAS GLAD TO SEE IT AND I THINK I MENTIONED SHORTLY THEREAFTER, BUT I TELL YOU, STORYTELLING IN THE AFRICAN COMMUNITY, AS IT WAS IN NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES, AS IT IS AND PROBABLY MOST TRIBAL COMMUNITIES, VERY MUCH A PART OF THAT TRIBE, THAT HISTORY.

SINCE WE WERE NOT WRITING DOWN THINGS ON PAPER IN THOSE DAYS, STORYTELLING WAS THE WAY TO KEEP PEOPLE LINKED TO THEIR ANCESTRY.

AM I CORRECT?

VALERIE: ABSOLUTELY.

NO QUESTION.

PETER: MY MOM'S FAMILY WERE NATIVE AMERICANS FROM THE NORTH CAROLINA AREA, BLACKFOOT TRIBE.

THEY USED TO TELL ME STORIES OF THE TRIBE AND WHAT PEOPLE DID, AND IT ALWAYS MADE ME FEEL CONNECTED DURING THOSE MOMENTS.

YOU KNOW, BEING NATIVE AS WELL AS BEING BLACK, THERE ARE STORIES ON BOTH SIDES, AND IN SOME CASES, THEY EVEN SOUND THE SAME, JUST DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.

HAVE YOU FOUND THAT TO BE THE CASE WITH STORYTELLING AROUND THE COUNTRY OR AROUND THE WORLD?

VALERIE: I WOULD DEFINITELY SAY AROUND THE WORLD.

STORIES ARE WHAT CONNECT US.

SOMETHING HAPPENS WHEN WE ARE ACTUALLY TELLING STORIES TOGETHER.

WE ARE LITERALLY SHARING AN EXPERIENCE IN THIS MOMENT THAT IS TRANSPORTING US TO ANOTHER PLACE.

SO IN ARMENIAN CULTURE, THEY TALK ABOUT THAT AS THREE APPLES.

THERE IS AN APPLE FOR THE STORY, AND APPLE FOR THE TELLER, AND APPLE FOR THE LISTENER.

THAT CONNECTION IS SO KEY, AND THAT IS REALLY DIFFERENT FROM WHEN YOU ACTUALLY WRITE STUFF DOWN.

YOU WRITE THAT THING DOWN AND YOU CAN PUT IT ASIDE, THEN YOU HAVE TO PULL IT OUT.

BUT IT IS FLAT ON THE PAGE, BUT WHEN YOU ARE ENGAGED IN THE ACTUAL TELLING, EVEN AS WE ARE IN THIS TIME OF COVID, THAT BREADTH, WHICH IS THE LIFE FORCE, THAT IS WHAT GIVES LIFE TO OUR EXPERIENCE, THAT IS WHAT GIVES LIFE TO OUR MOMENT NOW, AND IF WE ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO IT, IT IS WHAT GIVES US THE POWER TO GIVE LIFE INTO THE FUTURE, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT STORYTELLING -- STORYTELLING HELPS US EXPERIENCE THE PAST, THE PRESENT, AND THE IMAGINED AT THE SAME TIME.

THAT IS PRETTY POWERFUL STUFF.

AND TO GO BACK TO YOUR COMMENT ABOUT THE SIMILARITIES OF STORIES, THERE IS A MAN BY THE NAME OF STEPH THOMPSON WHO HAS BOOKS OF STORY MOTIFS, YOU CAN GO TO THAT BOOK AND YOU CAN FIND THAT ALMOST EVERY CULTURE HAS A CINDERELLA VERSION, ALMOST EVERY CULTURE HAS A FOOL THAT YOU ARE GOING TO FIND, ALMOST EVERY CULTURE TELL SIMILAR STORIES OF HOW THINGS CAME TO BE AND THE OBSTACLES THAT PEOPLE HAD TO OVERCOME IN ORDER TO BE VICTORIOUS.

PETER: I GUESS THAT GIVES CREDENCE TO THE EXPRESSION THAT THERE ARE MORE THINGS THAT MAKE US ALL LIKE THAN SEPARATE US IN TERMS OF DIFFERENCES, AND I THINK THAT, UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT ENOUGH.

MAYBE THERE IS NOT ENOUGH STORYTELLING IN THE COMMUNITIES.

VALERIE: MY PERSONAL FEELING IS ABSOLUTELY.

AND IT GOES BACK TO WHAT I WAS ALLUDING TO, WHICH IS I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS A LOT BECAUSE THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE TALK ABOUT NOW, WHAT IS THE NARRATIVE?

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NARRATIVE IN THE STORY.

THE NARRATIVE IS, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED, RIGHT?

IT IS SEQUENTIAL, YOU CAN FOLLOW IT, THERE HAVE -- THERE IS A, PERHAPS, BEGINNING, MIDDLE, AND END.

BUT STORY ALLOWS US TO IMAGINE BEYOND WHAT IS.

AND TO ME, THAT IS REALLY THE MEDICINE PART.

IF WE KEEP TELLING THE SAME OLD NARRATIVE OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THERE IS NO ROOM FOR CHANGE IN THAT.

PETER: I AGREE.

VALERIE: OR AS YOUR SHOW SAYS, IN MY OPINION.

[LAUGHTER] PETER: YOU HAVE TOLD STORIES THROUGH DIFFERENT LENSES, SO TO SPEAK.

IS THERE SOME SORT OF TRAINING THAT SHOWS YOU OR HELPS YOU TO MOVE FROM ONE TYPE OF LENS TO ANOTHER LENS?

IN OTHER WORDS, CAN ANYBODY WHO IS INTERESTED IN STORYTELLING BE TRAINED IN THE ART?

I'M CALLING IT AN ART, THE ART OF STORYTELLING.

VALERIE: I LOVE HOW YOU TALKED ABOUT THE DIFFERENT LENSES FOR THE TRAINING IN THE ART, AND I WOULD SAY SOME OF THAT TRAINING MEANS THAT IT IS A CRAFT AS WELL , AND SO -- AND YOUR PHRASING MADE ME THINK, WOW, HOW HAVE I LEARNED DIFFERENT KINDS OF STORYTELLING?

SO YES, THERE IS A WAY YOU CAN LEARN TO TELL TRADITIONAL FOLKTALES, AND IT IS THE BASIC WAY THAT I LEARNED, AND THE OLDEST WAY THAT ALL OF US HAVE LEARNED TO TELL STORIES, EVERY CULTURE, ALL OVER TIME, BECAUSE WE DID NOT HAVE IT WRITTEN DOWN ANYWHERE.

THE MOST ANCIENT WAY IS THAT YOU LEARN TO LISTEN, AND THEN YOU LEARN TO RETELL WHAT YOU HEARD.

IN PLACES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT A WRITING FORM, THAT LISTENING WAS KEY, AND YOU WOULD BE CORRECTED IF HE DID NOT HEAR IT AND REPEAT IT CORRECTLY.

SO THAT LISTENING PEACE IS ABSOLUTELY VITAL.

I SEE YOU KIND OF NODDING YOUR HEAD, RIGHT?

PETER: IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, I GUESS IT WAS, OR JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, WHERE YOU PLAY THAT GAME WHERE THERE WOULD BE 10 PEOPLE SITTING AROUND THE ROOM AND A CIRCLE AND YOU TELL THE FIRST PERSON SOMETHING, THEN YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO TELL THE NEXT PERSON AND BY THE TIME IT GETS BACK TO YOU, IT IS A NEW STORY.

VALERIE: EXACTLY.

THE GAME TELEPHONE, YEAH.

AND, YOU KNOW, THERE IS ALSO VALUE IN CHANGING THE STORY, OF COURSE.

THAT IS IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANT TO BE MAKING CHANGE IN THE WORLD AND DEVELOPING YOUR OWN CREATIVITY.

HOWEVER, IN TRADITIONAL -- NOT JUST TRADITIONAL WAYS, WE NEED TO LEARN TO LISTEN TO ONE ANOTHER.

PETER: DEFINITELY.

VALERIE: SO -- GO AHEAD.

PETER: THIS LAST FOUR YEARS OF HIS PRESIDENCY TAUGHT US MORE ABOUT LISTENING, OR SHOULD HAVE TAUGHT US ABOUT LISTENING, TO TRUTH ABOUT -- TO TRUTH VERSUS NON-TRUTH.

VALERIE: YES, TRUTH VERSUS NON-TRUTH IS, AND WHAT IS NOT BEING SAID -- TRUTH VERSUS NON-TRUTH, AND WHAT IS NOT BEING SAID UNDER THE VERBAL STUFF COMING OUT.

IN TERMS OF THINKING ABOUT ANOTHER WAY OF TELLING STORIES, WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE HISTORICAL STORIES, THAT IS A DIFFERENT TECHNIQUE, IT IS A DIFFERENT PROCESS.

IT MEANS I HAVE TO UNCOVER, FOR MYSELF, THE STORIES THAT ARE NOT SO READILY AVAILABLE.

AND THAT IS SOMETHING WE ARE SEEING NOW, PEOPLE ARE LOOKING, THEY ARE DIGGING FOR THOSE UNTOLD, UNHEARD STORIES.

AND THEN, IF IT IS A HISTORICAL PIECE, FINDING THAT BALANCE.

FOR ME, I HATED HISTORY.

I AM NEVER ONE, JUST GIVE ME THE FACTS.

I WANT TO FEEL THE EXPERIENCE OF THE PEOPLE.

SO PEOPLE CAN LEARN THEIR WAYS OF DEVELOPING A STORY, AND I THINK MY WORK IN THEATER CERTAINLY HELPED.

THEATER, CLASSES, WRITING CLASSES, ALL THAT STUFF.

PETER: SURE.

I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT A FUTURE SITUATION.

THIS MAY NOT BE FAIR, MAYBE PUTTING YOU ON THE SPOT, BUT WE ARE GOING TO DO IT ANYWAY.

HOW DO YOU ENVISION TELLING THE STORY OF BLACK LIVES MATTER?

THIS MOVEMENT THIS SUMMER, 20 YEARS AGO, HOW DO WE TELL THE STORY?

AND I PUTTING YOU ON THE SPOT, I KNOW.

VALERIE: NO, YOU ARE, AND I KNOW THAT -- HERE IS THE THING, TO ME, ABOUT BLACK LIVES MATTER RIGHT NOW, IS THAT THIS IS OUR MOMENT, BUT OUR UNDERSTANDING OF STORIES FROM HISTORY SHOWS US IT IS NOT NEW, RIGHT?

IT IS REMINDING US OF WHAT I WAS TOO YOUNG TO EXPERIENCE MYSELF IN THE 60'S, WHICH WAS ECHOING WHAT WAS HAPPENING -- LET'S THINK THE TULSA MASSACRE, LET'S THINK EVEN FURTHER BACK TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING DURING THE TIME OF RECONSTRUCTION, WHEN BLACK FOLKS WERE BEING ELECTED AND THERE WAS THE KLAN BACKLASH, AND LET'S GO BACK TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO OUR ENSLAVED FOLKS BEFORE THEN, CHALLENGES IN OUR CONTEXT, WE ALWAYS THINK ABOUT IT IN THE CONTEXT OF SLAVERY, BUT LET'S IMAGINE 10 YEARS FROM NOW THAT THE PEOPLE GATHERED TOGETHER, AND LET'S IMAGINE THAT I AM SITTING HERE WITH MY -- HOW MANY YEARS?

YEAH, MY TEENAGERS, WHO WERE BORN AT THIS TIME, AND I SAY, YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE IT.

I KNOW BECAUSE WHEN YOU WALK OUT THE STORE AND THE CITY OF PROVIDENCE, YOU FEEL SAFE, YOU FEEL LOVED, AND YOU FEEL SEEN.

YOU CAN WALK DOWN THE STREET IN YOUR BEAUTIFUL BLACK, BROWN SKIN, AND YOU CAN SPEAK YOUR SPANISH OR YOUR CAMBODIAN OR YOUR RUSSIAN OR YOUR ENGLISH, AND A MATTER WHERE YOU GO, -- AND NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO, YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE IN PROVIDENCE, YOU ARE IN GOD'S COUNTRY, AND YOU ARE WALKING WITH THE DOMINICAN AND THE PUERTO RICAN AND YOU ARE ALL FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AND YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE STANDING AROUND WHO ARE KEEPING YOU SAFE, AND WHEN YOU GO TO SCHOOL EVERY DAY, YOU SEE TEACHERS WHO LOOK LIKE YOU, AND YOU OPEN UP BOOKS AND YOU SEE YOUR HISTORY, RIGHT THERE, IN THOSE BOOKS.

BUT, MY CHILDREN, IT WAS NOT ALWAYS THAT WAY, BECAUSE, YOU SEE, 10 YEARS AGO, THAT WAS THE MOST RECENT DISTURBANCE.

THE YOUNG PEOPLE TOOK TO THE STREETS AND THEY TOOK TO THE STREETS BECAUSE THEY HEARD OF STORIES THAT HAD BEEN HAPPENING TIME AND TIME AGAIN, THEY KNEW THE NAMES OF GEORGE FLOYD AND BREONNA TAYLOR AND THEY KNEW THAT THE POLICE WERE BEATING PEOPLE AND KILLING PEOPLE WHO LOOKED LIKE YOU, AND THOSE YOUNG PEOPLE GATHERED TOGETHER AND THEY LEARNED THE STORIES OF THEIR ANCESTORS FROM THE PAST WHO, IN EVERY TIME OF INJUSTICE, BANDED THEMSELVES TOGETHER AND SAID, NO MORE, OUR BODIES ARE BEAUTIFUL, WE MATTER, WE MATTER, AND WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU SEE US.

SO, MY CHILDREN, TODAY, BECAUSE THEY DID, YOU HAVE THIS MOMENT NOW, AND YOU WILL BRING IT TO YOUR CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN.

PETER: FANTASTIC, THAT WAS VERY GOOD.

VALERIE: [LAUGHTER] PETER: YOU HAD MADE.

VALERIE: GOOD.

THANK YOU.

I WAS JUST MAKING IT UP, BUT THAT IS THE OTHER PIECE TO BE ABOUT STORYTELLING.

-- TO ME, ABOUT STORYTELLING.

I FIND IT INTERESTING THAT IN THIS MOMENT NOW, OUR YOUNGER BLACK LEADERS LOVE OCTAVIA BUTLER, RIGHT?

BECAUSE WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO IMAGINE A NEW STORY FOR OURSELVES, OR WE JUST KEEP GETTING THE SAME OLD THING.

PETER: THE STORY YOU JUST TOLD, HOWEVER, I HEAR THAT STORY IN MY HEAD, I HEAR MY PARENTS TELLING ME THAT STORY IN THE 1960'S, BECAUSE I AM OLDER THAN YOU, SO I CAN REMEMBER THOSE THINGS, AND IT IS THE SAME.

IT IS NOT NEW.

THE VERY WORD YOU USED ABOUT BEING ABLE TO GO OUT, MY PARENTS USED THOSE WORDS.

MY MOM WAS AN ENGLISH TEACHER.

RETIRED AS A GUIDANCE COUNSELOR.

MY DAD WAS A MINISTER, ALSO A TEACHER.

THEY WERE CONSTANTLY, AND THEIR OWN WAY, TELLING STORIES.

NOT LABELING IT STORYTELLING, BUT THEY ALWAYS TOLD STORIES AND THEY USED PARABLES TO GET THE POINT ACROSS.

WHAT YOU JUST DID BROUGHT THAT BACK.

VALERIE: AND I THINK THAT THAT IS REALLY THE POWER AND THE POINT, YOU KNOW?

LIKE, WE GET REMINDED THAT EVEN THOUGH THIS IS OUR MOMENT IN TIME, IT IS NOT NEW.

PETER: NO.

VALERIE: NONE OF IT.

WHICH COULD BE FRUSTRATING, AND COULD BE SOMETHING THAT MAKES US SAY, OH HELL, FORGET IT, WHY EVEN BOTHER?

OR IT COULD GIVE US THE STRENGTH TO KNOW THAT I WILL DO WHAT I NEED TO DO IN MY MOMENT IN TIME, SO MY PEOPLE WILL BE READY FOR THEIR MOMENT.

PETER: EXACTLY.

I WAS FORTUNATE TO HAVE PARENTS WHO CONVINCED MY BROTHER AND I BOTH THAT WE COULD BE WHATEVER WE WANTED TO BE, AS LONG AS HE WANTED TO BE IT BAD ENOUGH.

SO I DID THE SAME THING WITH MY KIDS, AND THEY ARE DOING VERY WELL IN THIS SOCIETY THAT WE LIVE IN.

ONE IS AN ENGINEER AND THE OTHER IS A MOVIE PRODUCER AND DIGITAL PUBLISHER.

THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT, YES, WE HAVE TO TELL OUR YOUNGSTERS THAT THEY CAN BE ANYTHING, BUT WE DO HAVE TO TELL THEM WHY AND HOW IT IS THAT WAY AND WHAT'S BEFORE THEN.

WE HEAR PEOPLE SAY THE RIGHT TO VOTE WAS BEING TAMPERED WITH BY ONE OF THE PARTIES, AND I WOULD SAY, THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN, BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE ARE DOING BETTER.

RECONSTRUCTION IS STARTING TO COME AGAIN BECAUSE WE ARE SEEING IT POLITICALLY.

I THINK THE ELECTION OF PRESIDENT OBAMA IS A GOOD INDICATOR THAT PEOPLE OF COLOR CAN, WILL, DO WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO TO BE RELEVANT AND STAY RELEVANT IN THE SOCIETY.

VALERIE: ONE OF THE THINGS IT MAKES ME THINK ABOUT, PEOPLE OF COLOR, WE ALWAYS DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO, AND SOME OF WHAT HAPPENS IN THE MOMENT IS THAT WHITE FOLKS WAKE UP AND GO -- WELL, A COUPLE THINGS.

ONE, THERE IS A BIG EXPLOSION, BUT THAT IS WHAT HELPS WHITE FOLKS WAKE UP.

MAYBE IN FOUR YEARS, BLACK LIVES MATTER IS NOT GOING TO BE IN THE NEWS, YOU KNOW?

BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE DOING THE WORK THAT WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE AND HAVE TO DO.

SOMETIMES, THAT IS THE SORT OF DEPRESSING THING.

[LAUGHTER] BUT, LIKE YOU SAID, IT IS ALSO USEFUL.

WE NEED TO PASS THAT INFORMATION ON TO OUR DESCENDENTS AS WELL.

PETER: ABSOLUTELY.

AND THAT STORYTELLING IS REALLY IMPORTANT.

IT HAS GIVEN ME A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE, ACTUALLY, ON HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE.

MOST OF MY LIFE, I WAS A REGULATOR.

I WAS TALKING AT PEOPLE AND NOT REALLY DOING A LOT OF LISTENING, QUITE FRANKLY, BECAUSE I WAS WORKING FOR GOVERNMENT AND I WAS PROTECTING TAXPAYERS' DOLLARS, SO I HAD A SPECIFIC MISSION.

BUT STORYTELLING IS IMPORTANT, MAKING SURE IT STAYS ALIVE IN THE COMMUNITY, AND IT IS PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH THE RHODE ISLAND STELLY TORRES -- STORYTELLERS THAT MAKE THAT HAPPEN.

I'M GLAD TO SHARE YOU WITH OTHER PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW YOU, AND I'M SURE THERE IS A GENERATION COMING UP, WHAT IS IT, Z?

I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE NUMBERS AND LETTERS ATTACHED TO THEM, BUT THEY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT STORYTELLERS.

LET ME ASK YOU, WHAT IS COMING UP FOR THE STORYTELLERS IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

VALERIE: WE JUST FINISHED OUR BIG FESTIVAL, CELEBRATION OF BLACK STORYTELLING.

WE WOULD LOVE FOLKS TO FIND US ON FACEBOOK, RHODE ISLAND BLACK STORYTELLERS, AND WE ARE GOING TO BE DOING A STORY CAMP FOR KIDS WHO WANT TO LEARN STORYTELLING, AND GET ON OUR MAILING LIST BECAUSE YOU WILL FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MONTHLY STORYTELLING THAT WE WANT TO DO WHILE WE ARE STILL IN THIS VIRTUAL SPACE.

WE ARE ALSO DOING A PROJECT CALLED THE STORY BRIDGE PROJECT WITH GIRLS WHO IDENTIFY AS BLACK AND/OR ASIAN.

WE HAVE A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON AND WE WOULD LOVE FOLKS TO JOIN US.

PETER: WE ARE GOING TO RUN OUT OF TIME AND A HALF HOUR GOES BY SO FAST, SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE YOU BACK AGAIN, OBVIOUSLY.

I WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR BEING THE GUEST TODAY ON OUR SHOW.

YOU, THE VIEWERS, OR TUNING INTO ANOTHER EDITION OF IN ANOTHER OPINION.

A SPECIAL THANKS TO PBS FOR MAKING THIS SHOW POSSIBLE.

GIVE US YOUR OPINION ON FACEBOOK OR TWITTER.

MORE IMPORTANTLY, HAVE A GOOD DAY AND KEEP THOSE STORIES GOING.

[CAPTIONING PERFORMED BY THE NATIONAL CAPTIONING INSTITUTE, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CAPTION CONTENT AND ACCURACY.

VISIT NCICAP.ORG] ♪ >> SOMEONE GAVE, SOMEONE DONATED, SOMEONE LEFT A LEGACY.

GENERATIONS OF GENEROUS SOMEONES HAVE SHAPED RHODE ISLAND INTO THIS AMAZING PLACE WE CALL HOME.