FRIDAY OCTOBER 3, 2003 at ST. SCHOLASTICA ACADEMY 9.30am - 12.30pm

Stories that explore the multicultural identities we all possess

The first COR event of the 2003-04 school year was held at St. Scholastica High School in Chicago, IL. The morning began with prayer and was followed by a program of professional storytelling by Linda Gorham, Sue O’Halloran and Antonio Sacre. The storytellers took turns performing stories that explored questions of ethnic identity and of the multicultural identities we all have.

Linda Gorham presented "I am somebody", an affirmation-story, and then told stories about growing up in and out of her African-America community. She also presented a moving account of racial encounter through the life of a small girl during the desegregation of the Little Rock Arkansas school system in the sixties.

Susan O'Halloran presented a story of racial discovery as she talked about the time she attended her first multi-racial retreat as a teenager.

Antonio Sacre told a story of bi-lingual and interracial conflict and tensions as he grew up and attended school, and about the loss and recovery of his Cuban-American identity.

The whole audience joined in the “Grandmother Spider” action story. A brief reflection session pulled together the threads and meanings of the performance, pointing to the important role that our heritage and families play in how we learn to view others, and in the development of our identities.

400 people attended the event. The participants represented 14 archdiocesan high schools. Teachers, storytellers, and media were also present.