StitchCast Studio Special Edition
The WHY of MY City
Created November 2022 – June 2023
The StitchCasts will be released June 2-14, 2023 on major podcast platforms.
In conjunction with The WHY of MY City, Story Stitchers artists are creating StitchCast Studio Special Edition podcast recordings focused on Black historic sites in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Youth leaders and artist mentors have been visiting important sites in African American history and podcasting with site caretakers.
Support is provided by The Divided City. The Divided City is an urban humanities initiative, a joint project of the Center for the Humanities and the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, College of Architecture and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design at Washington University in St. Louis. The Divided City is funded by the Mellon Foundation.
Podcasts and related research for these discussions is supported in part by Missouri Humanities Council, a state agency.
Celebrate Juneteenth with The WHY of MY City, a new play by Saint Louis Story Stitchers, written by Mario Farwell and directed by Gregory S. Carr.
The story…Wanda, a young African American, returns to St. Louis after graduating high school. She wants to explore opportunities, but Zoot Suit, a well-known gangster, entices her to come work for him. The community rallies to prevent Wanda from making a serious mistake and with the help of Scott Joplin, Madam CJ Walker, Cool Papa Bell and Tina Turner, they manage to save her from the clutches of Zoot Suit.
June 16 and 16 at 7:00 PM at the .ZACK Theater, St. Louis, MO. SOLD OUT!
StitchCast Studio Guests include:
John A. Wright, Sr
Author and historian
Lost and Disappearing Histories in Black Culture
Sowandé Mustakeem, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of History and of African and African-American Studies, Washington University in St. Louis
Lost and Disappearing Histories in Black Culture
Pastor Richard Ashley
from Lutheran Church in The Ville
Role of Black Churches in Historic Preservation
Doug Harding
Park Ranger, Gateway National Park
Preserving Local History through Public Lands Part I and II
Lois Conley
Director, The Griot Black History Museum
Preserving Local History through Caretaking
Angela da Silva
on Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing
Preserving Local History through Community Organizing I and II
Emeara Burns, heading up The WHY of MY City Special Edition podcasts, has been Story Stitchers youth leader since 2016 and served as Story Stitchers Program Director 2019-21. Burns is a performing and recording artist, poet and songwriter. She is a graduate of Central Visual and Performing Arts High School and is a featured leading youth artist at Story Stitchers since 2015, performing original work created at the Stitchers Storefront Studio at Washington University, Harris Stowe University, Annie B Casey National Conference at Union Station, Unity Summit in Seattle, Washington, Sheldon Concert Hall, .ZACK Theater, and 300 other venues throughout the City of St. Louis. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
Emeara Burns will join cast members at a public Q&A after the June 15 performance.
Rochelle Caruthers, Director, African American History Initiative at the Missouri History Museum, Library & Research Center and Soldiers Memorial will join cast members at a public Q&A after the June 16 performance.
Podcasts and related research for these discussions is supported in part by Missouri Humanities Council, a state agency.
StitchCast Studio Special Edition: The Divided City publishing schedule:
- Understanding Trauma: February 5, 2021
- Trauma as Culture in Black Families: March 5, 2021
- Disorientation and Dislocation of Black Families: April 2, 2021
- Is St. Louis a Divided City? April 8, 2021
- Extra Episode: Youth leaders reflect on the previous episodes of StitcherCast Studio Special Edition: The Divided City and explore the topics with peers in this open and honest conversation of growing up and being young and Black in St. Louis.
- Story as Healer in Black Culture: May 7, 2021
StitchCast Studio is Available on Podbean, Google Podcasts, apple podcasts, and Spotify.
StitchCast Studio Special Edition: The Divided City
StitchCast Studio is a youth-led podcast series launched by Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective in 2019. Episodes are recorded and published on topics determined by youth of color from St. Louis: gun violence, racial divisions in St. Louis, public health and safety issues, compounding issues, and more.
StitchCast Studio Special Edition: The Divided City will produce and publish four 1 hour unique podcast episodes featuring African American youth, ages 16 to 24 years old, that live in neighborhoods with high crime and poverty rates in St. Louis. The conversations with Story Stitchers’ black youth will be led by Stitchers Youth Council co-chair Branden Lewis and will also feature African American humanities scholars, master storyteller Bobby Norfolk, filmmaker and Washington University alumnus, B.D. Architecture, Jun Bae, author and educator John A. Wright, Sowande’ Mustakeem, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History and African and African American Studies at Washington University, and LJ Punch, MD, President, Power4STL and an American Critical Care Surgeon.
The four unique conversations will bring historical context around recurring topics chosen by youth in the StitchCast Studio published podcasts, including: the culture of trauma caused by poverty and repeated exposure to violence amongst families of color in St. Louis, stories of disorientation and dislocation of black families, and the power of story as healer in black cultures through time. The series will be published through storystitchers.org on major podcast platforms.
This project is funded by The Divided City initiative. The Divided City is a joint project of the Center for the Humanities and the Sam Fox School, College of Architecture and Urban Design at Washington University in St. Louis. The Divided City is funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Press Release- Saint Louis Story Stitchers The Divided City
Youth who are 16-24 years old living in the St. Louis region may apply to participate as a podcaster in StitchCast Studio:
https://storystitchers.wufoo.com/forms/w1iaeygj0pdfxs6
Adult professionals who would like to be added to the list of community experts utilized by youth as a resource for topic research or as podcast guests please email Emeara Burns, Story Stitchers Youth Program Director: Emeara@storstitchers.org
