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Opinion

Covington: How telling stories threads the nation’s garment

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After accepting the 2020 Diversity Award from the Baha’i Faith Community and the Town of Paradise Valley a year ago, no one imagined that it would be one of our last public events when COVID, racial unrest and the elections unraveled our nation’s already torn garment.

What slowed the tear for some was the new understanding that our greatest divide, and most violent enemy needed eradication… divisiveness and racism.

Every sector seems to be examining its role by releasing reports on racial disparities and summoning the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”

JPMorganChase Bank of America and CitiGroup are among corporations releasing reports and promises after evaluating the numbers, acknowledging of what African Americans had already decried and waged protests around.

Racial gaps exist for Black Americans in wages, housing, health, education, and investment. Had we acted to close those gaps 20 years ago, $16 trillion could have been added to the U.S. economy. If these gaps are closed today, $5 trillion could be added to U.S. GDP over the next five years.

For some, data can be effective in moving some to action but for many storytelling paints the most convincing picture that moves people to call for and affect change.

Stories cross over industries and engage all age groups. Stories can serve as a tool to encourage people to create change. I vividly remember sharing with my family how I wanted to tell stories and become the next Jessica Savage. I am showing my age as Savage was one of the first women to anchor an evening network newscast until she was tragically killed in a car accident in 1983.

As an African American woman living in one of the most impoverished communities in the nation, East St. Louis, there were no role models for me to follow in my neighborhood. My Aunt Edna listened to my stories and took action to support me.

When she heard about the Minority Journalism Workshop in St. Louis on MAGIC 108 FM Radio, she not only shared the opportunity with me but drove me in her Chevy Impala every Saturday, crossing the Poplar Street Bridge that threads East St. Louis, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri.

In the summer workshop at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, I was groomed by some of the best newspaper editors, television news anchors and reporters from the region.

They helped me build a successful career for over 30 years in the television news. This industry that was often lonely for Black women like me where structural racism did not elude. Just like I shared my personal story with my aunt, sharing the history of our nation, the pain and personal resiliency of those before me, I am hopeful it will encourage people to give back and create faster change than we have experienced over the last 100 years.

That is why West African Griots are so highly celebrated. Griots are storytellers, praise singers and oral historians of their communities. As a Ghanaian American whose ancestors were enslaved in Mississippi, I often share the Covington’s tragedies and triumphs.

My ancestors were among America’s greatest financial assets. Carrying pounds of cotton on their backs, they helped propel the US into one of the leading economies of the world.

What would this economy look like today had we improved racial equity for all? Short answer- it could be as much as $5 trillion richer.

When the Arizona Community Foundation’s Black Philanthropy Initiative shared factual stories of economic inequity it was awarded its largest grant in history. The $600,000 grant will be used to improve economic equity in the Black community by providing the resources small businesses and nonprofits need to thrive.

The Arizona Community Foundation is the state’s largest grant-maker and private provider of scholarships. I manage several initiatives to improve equity and outreach including the Black Philanthropy Initiative.

You can learn more about the stories and the work of the Arizona Community Foundation and the Black Philanthropy Initiative at www.azfoundation.org

Now, I invite you to share your stories like a Griot. Listen and learn and then turn your Belief into Action and What Does it Mean to “Do the Right Thing”.

Because we are all one garment threaded together. When one thread unravels, the entire garment shreds.

Please join us for the Paradise Valley, Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Monday, Jan. 18 at 11 a.m. Due to COVID, the annual event will be held online.

You will be able to join the live streaming celebration from www.MLKParadiseValley.org. There you will find the link on the home page of the site. During the program the Diversity Award recipient will be honored, and Paradise Valley Martin Luther King Day Essay Contest winners awarded.

Students attending middle school in Paradise Valley and any other nearby potential students are invited to submit an essay with the title of the topic being: What Does it Means to “Do the Right Thing.” 

Editor’s Note: Kim Covington was the Paradise Valley Martin Luther King Jr. Diversity Award recipient in 2020.