0:00:00.760,0:00:02.376 So earlier this year, 0:00:02.400,0:00:06.216 I was informed that I would be[br]doing a TED Talk. 0:00:06.240,0:00:08.216 So I was excited, then I panicked, 0:00:08.240,0:00:10.256 then I was excited, then I panicked, 0:00:10.280,0:00:12.816 and in between the excitement[br]and the panicking, 0:00:12.840,0:00:15.136 I started to do my research, 0:00:15.160,0:00:19.616 and my research primarily consisted[br]of Googling how to give a great TED Talk. 0:00:19.640,0:00:20.856 (Laughter) 0:00:20.880,0:00:22.536 And interspersed with that, 0:00:22.560,0:00:25.256 I was Googling Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. 0:00:25.280,0:00:26.896 How many of you know who that is? 0:00:26.920,0:00:29.696 (Cheers) 0:00:29.720,0:00:32.055 So I was Googling her[br]because I always Google her 0:00:32.080,0:00:33.336 because I'm just a fan, 0:00:33.360,0:00:36.976 but also because she always has[br]important and interesting things to say. 0:00:37.000,0:00:40.456 And the combination of those searches 0:00:40.480,0:00:43.096 kept leading me to her talk 0:00:43.120,0:00:46.296 on the dangers of a single story, 0:00:46.320,0:00:49.696 on what happens[br]when we have a solitary lens 0:00:49.720,0:00:52.216 through which to understand[br]certain groups of people, 0:00:52.240,0:00:54.200 and it is the perfect talk. 0:00:55.720,0:01:00.056 It's the talk that I would have given[br]if I had been famous first. 0:01:00.080,0:01:02.256 (Laughter) 0:01:02.280,0:01:05.656 You know, and you know,[br]like, she's African and I'm African, 0:01:05.680,0:01:07.616 and she's a feminist and I'm a feminist, 0:01:07.640,0:01:09.816 and she's a storyteller[br]and I'm a storyteller, 0:01:09.840,0:01:11.656 so I really felt like it's my talk. 0:01:11.680,0:01:14.416 (Laughter) 0:01:14.440,0:01:17.736 So I decided that I was going[br]to learn how to code, 0:01:17.760,0:01:19.776 and then I was going to hack the internet 0:01:19.800,0:01:23.536 and I would take down all the copies[br]of that talk that existed, 0:01:23.560,0:01:24.976 and then I would memorize it, 0:01:25.000,0:01:28.256 and then I would come here[br]and deliver it as if it was my own speech. 0:01:28.280,0:01:31.456 So that plan was going really well,[br]except the coding part, 0:01:31.480,0:01:35.376 and then one morning a few months ago, 0:01:35.400,0:01:36.976 I woke up 0:01:37.000,0:01:42.456 to the news that the wife[br]of a certain presidential candidate 0:01:42.480,0:01:45.456 had given a speech that -- 0:01:45.480,0:01:47.416 (Laughter) 0:01:47.440,0:01:50.000 (Applause) 0:01:52.960,0:01:57.576 that sounded eerily like a speech[br]given by one of my other faves, 0:01:57.600,0:01:58.816 Michelle Obama. 0:01:58.840,0:02:00.936 (Cheers) 0:02:00.960,0:02:04.976 And so I decided that I should[br]probably write my own TED Talk, 0:02:05.000,0:02:07.496 and so that is what I am here to do. 0:02:07.520,0:02:11.840 I'm here to talk about[br]my own observations about storytelling. 0:02:12.640,0:02:16.616 I want to talk to you[br]about the power of stories, of course, 0:02:16.640,0:02:19.576 but I also want to talk[br]about their limitations, 0:02:19.600,0:02:23.640 particularly for those of us[br]who are interested in social justice. 0:02:24.280,0:02:27.176 So since Adichie gave that talk[br]seven years ago, 0:02:27.200,0:02:29.456 there has been a boom in storytelling. 0:02:29.480,0:02:32.216 Stories are everywhere, 0:02:32.240,0:02:36.176 and if there was a danger[br]in the telling of one tired old tale, 0:02:36.200,0:02:40.536 then I think there has got to be[br]lots to celebrate about the flourishing 0:02:40.560,0:02:43.336 of so many stories and so many voices. 0:02:43.360,0:02:46.160 Stories are the antidote to bias. 0:02:46.960,0:02:52.016 In fact, today, if you are middle class[br]and connected via the internet, 0:02:52.040,0:02:55.176 you can download stories[br]at the touch of a button 0:02:55.200,0:02:56.576 or the swipe of a screen. 0:02:56.600,0:02:58.416 You can listen to a podcast 0:02:58.440,0:03:02.336 about what it's like[br]to grow up Dalit in Kolkata. 0:03:02.360,0:03:04.856 You can hear an indigenous[br]man in Australia 0:03:04.880,0:03:08.976 talk about the trials and triumphs[br]of raising his children in dignity 0:03:09.000,0:03:10.336 and in pride. 0:03:10.360,0:03:12.336 Stories make us fall in love. 0:03:12.360,0:03:15.536 They heal rifts and they bridge divides. 0:03:15.560,0:03:17.416 Stories can even make it easier for us 0:03:17.440,0:03:20.096 to talk about the deaths[br]of people in our societies 0:03:20.120,0:03:22.576 who don't matter,[br]because they make us care. 0:03:22.600,0:03:23.800 Right? 0:03:24.800,0:03:26.056 I'm not so sure, 0:03:26.080,0:03:29.160 and I actually work for a place[br]called the Centre for Stories. 0:03:29.840,0:03:34.256 And my job is to help to tell stories 0:03:34.280,0:03:37.816 that challenge mainstream narratives[br]about what it means to be black 0:03:37.840,0:03:40.896 or a Muslim or a refugee[br]or any of those other categories 0:03:40.920,0:03:43.936 that we talk about all the time. 0:03:43.960,0:03:45.176 But I come to this work 0:03:45.200,0:03:48.696 after a long history[br]as a social justice activist, 0:03:48.720,0:03:50.856 and so I'm really interested in the ways 0:03:50.880,0:03:53.576 that people talk[br]about nonfiction storytelling 0:03:53.600,0:03:55.936 as though it's about[br]more than entertainment, 0:03:55.960,0:03:58.920 as though it's about being[br]a catalyst for social action. 0:03:59.560,0:04:02.216 It's not uncommon to hear people say 0:04:02.240,0:04:05.240 that stories make[br]the world a better place. 0:04:06.960,0:04:10.176 Increasingly, though, I worry[br]that even the most poignant stories, 0:04:10.200,0:04:14.136 particularly the stories about people[br]who no one seems to care about, 0:04:14.160,0:04:17.576 can often get in the way[br]of action towards social justice. 0:04:17.600,0:04:21.416 Now, this is not because[br]storytellers mean any harm. 0:04:21.440,0:04:22.696 Quite the contrary. 0:04:22.720,0:04:26.960 Storytellers are often do-gooders[br]like me and, I suspect, yourselves. 0:04:27.600,0:04:30.656 And the audiences of storytellers 0:04:30.680,0:04:33.920 are often deeply compassionate[br]and empathetic people. 0:04:34.360,0:04:39.176 Still, good intentions[br]can have unintended consequences, 0:04:39.200,0:04:43.240 and so I want to propose that stories[br]are not as magical as they seem. 0:04:43.680,0:04:46.576 So three -- because[br]it's always got to be three -- 0:04:46.600,0:04:48.816 three reasons why I think 0:04:48.840,0:04:53.520 that stories don't necessarily[br]make the world a better place. 0:04:54.320,0:04:58.376 Firstly, stories can create[br]an illusion of solidarity. 0:04:58.400,0:05:00.936 There is nothing[br]like that feel-good factor you get 0:05:00.960,0:05:03.096 from listening to a fantastic story 0:05:03.120,0:05:06.496 where you feel like you[br]climbed that mountain, right, 0:05:06.520,0:05:09.360 or that you befriended[br]that death row inmate. 0:05:09.840,0:05:11.256 But you didn't. 0:05:11.280,0:05:13.096 You haven't done anything. 0:05:13.120,0:05:14.896 Listening is an important 0:05:14.920,0:05:17.880 but insufficient step[br]towards social action. 0:05:19.120,0:05:21.976 Secondly, I think often we are drawn 0:05:22.000,0:05:24.936 towards characters and protagonists 0:05:24.960,0:05:28.416 who are likable and human. 0:05:28.440,0:05:30.336 And this makes sense, of course, right? 0:05:30.360,0:05:33.416 Because if you like someone,[br]then you care about them. 0:05:33.440,0:05:34.840 But the inverse is also true. 0:05:35.400,0:05:37.176 If you don't like someone, 0:05:37.200,0:05:39.136 then you don't care about them. 0:05:39.160,0:05:41.016 And if you don't care about them, 0:05:41.040,0:05:44.936 you don't have to see yourself[br]as having a moral obligation 0:05:44.960,0:05:48.200 to think about the circumstances[br]that shaped their lives. 0:05:49.000,0:05:52.296 I learned this lesson[br]when I was 14 years old. 0:05:52.320,0:05:55.096 I learned that actually,[br]you don't have to like someone 0:05:55.120,0:05:56.496 to recognize their wisdom, 0:05:56.520,0:05:58.616 and you certainly[br]don't have to like someone 0:05:58.640,0:06:00.080 to take a stand by their side. 0:06:00.800,0:06:02.600 So my bike was stolen 0:06:03.520,0:06:04.976 while I was riding it -- 0:06:05.000,0:06:06.136 (Laughter) 0:06:06.160,0:06:09.736 which is possible if you're[br]riding slowly enough, which I was. 0:06:09.760,0:06:11.256 (Laughter) 0:06:11.280,0:06:14.256 So one minute[br]I'm cutting across this field 0:06:14.280,0:06:16.576 in the Nairobi neighborhood[br]where I grew up, 0:06:16.600,0:06:19.056 and it's like a very bumpy path, 0:06:19.080,0:06:20.896 and so when you're riding a bike, 0:06:20.920,0:06:23.176 you don't want to be like, you know -- 0:06:23.200,0:06:24.600 (Laughter) 0:06:26.160,0:06:30.776 And so I'm going like this,[br]slowly pedaling, 0:06:30.800,0:06:33.376 and all of a sudden, I'm on the floor. 0:06:33.400,0:06:35.576 I'm on the ground, and I look up, 0:06:35.600,0:06:38.376 and there's this kid peddling away[br]in the getaway vehicle, 0:06:38.400,0:06:39.896 which is my bike, 0:06:39.920,0:06:43.176 and he's about 11 or 12 years old,[br]and I'm on the floor, 0:06:43.200,0:06:46.056 and I'm crying because I saved[br]a lot of money for that bike, 0:06:46.080,0:06:48.656 and I'm crying and I stand up[br]and I start screaming. 0:06:48.680,0:06:52.936 Instinct steps in,[br]and I start screaming, "Mwizi, mwizi!" 0:06:52.960,0:06:54.600 which means "thief" in Swahili. 0:06:55.560,0:07:00.576 And out of the woodworks,[br]all of these people come out 0:07:00.600,0:07:02.016 and they start to give chase. 0:07:02.040,0:07:04.296 This is Africa, so mob justice in action. 0:07:04.320,0:07:05.776 Right? 0:07:05.800,0:07:08.576 And I round the corner,[br]and they've captured him, 0:07:08.600,0:07:10.056 they've caught him. 0:07:10.080,0:07:12.136 The suspect has been apprehended, 0:07:12.160,0:07:15.736 and they make him give me my bike back, 0:07:15.760,0:07:17.376 and they also make him apologize. 0:07:17.400,0:07:20.976 Again, you know,[br]typical African justice, right? 0:07:21.000,0:07:22.496 And so they make him say sorry. 0:07:22.520,0:07:24.856 And so we stand there facing each other, 0:07:24.880,0:07:27.816 and he looks at me, and he says sorry, 0:07:27.840,0:07:31.336 but he looks at me[br]with this unbridled fury. 0:07:31.360,0:07:34.400 He is very, very angry. 0:07:35.440,0:07:38.496 And it is the first time that I have been[br]confronted with someone 0:07:38.520,0:07:41.136 who doesn't like me[br]simply because of what I represent. 0:07:41.160,0:07:43.216 He looks at me[br]with this look as if to say, 0:07:43.240,0:07:47.120 "You, with your shiny skin[br]and your bike, you're angry at me?" 0:07:49.240,0:07:52.496 So it was a hard lesson[br]that he didn't like me, 0:07:52.520,0:07:54.576 but you know what, he was right. 0:07:54.600,0:07:58.096 I was a middle-class kid[br]living in a poor country. 0:07:58.120,0:08:01.360 I had a bike, and he barely had food. 0:08:01.760,0:08:04.696 Sometimes, it's the messages[br]that we don't want to hear, 0:08:04.720,0:08:07.216 the ones that make us[br]want to crawl out of ourselves, 0:08:07.240,0:08:09.816 that we need to hear the most. 0:08:09.840,0:08:13.016 For every lovable storyteller[br]who steals your heart, 0:08:13.040,0:08:17.416 there are hundreds more[br]whose voices are slurred and ragged, 0:08:17.440,0:08:22.120 who don't get to stand up on a stage[br]dressed in fine clothes like this. 0:08:22.640,0:08:26.936 There are a million[br]angry-boy-on-a-bike stories 0:08:26.960,0:08:28.616 and we can't afford to ignore them 0:08:28.640,0:08:31.776 simply because we don't like[br]their protagonists 0:08:31.800,0:08:34.736 or because that's not the kid[br]that we would bring home with us 0:08:34.760,0:08:35.960 from the orphanage. 0:08:36.600,0:08:38.456 The third reason that I think 0:08:38.480,0:08:42.096 that stories don't necessarily[br]make the world a better place 0:08:42.120,0:08:45.576 is that too often we are so invested[br]in the personal narrative 0:08:45.600,0:08:48.440 that we forget[br]to look at the bigger picture. 0:08:48.880,0:08:50.776 And so we applaud someone 0:08:50.800,0:08:53.456 when they tell us[br]about their feelings of shame, 0:08:53.480,0:08:56.640 but we don't necessarily[br]link that to oppression. 0:08:57.080,0:09:00.736 We nod understandingly[br]when someone says they felt small, 0:09:00.760,0:09:02.800 but we don't link that to discrimination. 0:09:03.600,0:09:06.416 The most important stories,[br]especially for social justice, 0:09:06.440,0:09:08.256 are those that do both, 0:09:08.280,0:09:13.040 that are both personal and allow us[br]to explore and understand the political. 0:09:13.920,0:09:15.936 But it's not just[br]about the stories we like 0:09:15.960,0:09:17.856 versus the stories we choose to ignore. 0:09:17.880,0:09:21.816 Increasingly, we are living in a society[br]where there are larger forces at play, 0:09:21.840,0:09:26.200 where stories are actually for many people[br]beginning to replace the news. 0:09:26.640,0:09:27.856 Yeah? 0:09:27.880,0:09:31.256 We live in a time where we are witnessing[br]the decline of facts, 0:09:31.280,0:09:33.496 when emotions rule 0:09:33.520,0:09:36.616 and analysis, it's kind of boring, right? 0:09:36.640,0:09:40.840 Where we value what we feel[br]more than what we actually know. 0:09:42.040,0:09:46.336 A recent report by the Pew Center[br]on trends in America 0:09:46.360,0:09:52.136 indicates that only 10 percent[br]of young adults under the age of 30 0:09:52.160,0:09:55.536 "place a lot of trust in the media." 0:09:55.560,0:09:57.360 Now, this is significant. 0:09:57.840,0:10:00.456 It means that storytellers[br]are gaining trust 0:10:00.480,0:10:01.856 at precisely the same moment 0:10:01.880,0:10:05.200 that many in the media[br]are losing the confidence in the public. 0:10:06.040,0:10:08.616 This is not a good thing, 0:10:08.640,0:10:10.416 because while stories are important 0:10:10.440,0:10:12.656 and they help us[br]to have insights in many ways, 0:10:12.680,0:10:14.536 we need the media. 0:10:14.560,0:10:17.056 From my years[br]as a social justice activist, 0:10:17.080,0:10:23.176 I know very well that we need[br]credible facts from media institutions 0:10:23.200,0:10:27.216 combined with the powerful voices[br]of storytellers. 0:10:27.240,0:10:30.760 That's what pushes the needle forward[br]in terms of social justice. 0:10:31.840,0:10:34.560 In the final analysis, of course, 0:10:36.480,0:10:38.296 it is justice 0:10:38.320,0:10:40.056 that makes the world a better place, 0:10:40.080,0:10:42.040 not stories. Right? 0:10:43.080,0:10:46.136 And so if it is justice that we are after, 0:10:46.160,0:10:49.576 then I think we mustn't focus[br]on the media or on storytellers. 0:10:49.600,0:10:52.296 We must focus on audiences, 0:10:52.320,0:10:55.416 on anyone who has ever turned on a radio 0:10:55.440,0:10:57.256 or listened to a podcast, 0:10:57.280,0:10:59.376 and that means all of us. 0:10:59.400,0:11:01.536 So a few concluding thoughts 0:11:01.560,0:11:05.440 on what audiences can do[br]to make the world a better place. 0:11:06.000,0:11:09.936 So firstly, the world[br]would be a better place, I think, 0:11:09.960,0:11:13.536 if audiences were more curious[br]and more skeptical 0:11:13.560,0:11:16.176 and asked more questions[br]about the social context 0:11:16.200,0:11:19.280 that created those stories[br]that they love so much. 0:11:20.200,0:11:22.456 Secondly, the world[br]would be a better place 0:11:22.480,0:11:26.160 if audiences recognized[br]that storytelling is intellectual work. 0:11:27.640,0:11:30.576 And I think it would[br]be important for audiences 0:11:30.600,0:11:35.936 to demand more buttons[br]on their favorite websites, 0:11:35.960,0:11:38.656 buttons for example that say, 0:11:38.680,0:11:40.296 "If you liked this story, 0:11:40.320,0:11:44.376 click here to support a cause[br]your storyteller believes in." 0:11:44.400,0:11:49.560 Or "click here to contribute[br]to your storyteller's next big idea." 0:11:50.480,0:11:53.056 Often, we are committed to the platforms, 0:11:53.080,0:11:55.536 but not necessarily[br]to the storytellers themselves. 0:11:55.560,0:12:00.656 And then lastly, I think that audiences[br]can make the world a better place 0:12:00.680,0:12:02.760 by switching off their phones, 0:12:03.560,0:12:05.576 by stepping away from their screens 0:12:05.600,0:12:10.080 and stepping out into the real world[br]beyond what feels safe. 0:12:10.840,0:12:12.856 Alice Walker has said, 0:12:12.880,0:12:16.656 "Look closely at the present[br]you are constructing. 0:12:16.680,0:12:19.840 It should look like the future[br]you are dreaming." 0:12:20.640,0:12:22.856 Storytellers can help us to dream, 0:12:22.880,0:12:26.680 but it's up to all of us[br]to have a plan for justice. 0:12:27.480,0:12:28.696 Thank you. 0:12:28.720,0:12:33.070 (Applause)