Chandler-Gilbert Community College

Black Student Union
Living Library

Resources

Click here to learn about each "Book" and how to attend the readings

We all have stories...

BLACK STUDENT UNION MISSION
The Black Student Union (BSU) is a student-based organization devoted to the cultural, social, and academic needs of Black and African American students attending CGCC. In addition to addressing the challenges our communities face and finding solutions for them, we encourage unity, inspire leadership, and promote student success. Our goal is to give Black students a chance to use their voices to network with other students throughout Chandler-Gilbert and other college campuses across the nation.

Chandler-Gilbert Community College's Black Student Union is hosting a Virtual Living Library on February 23, 24 & 25, 2021.

For your reference, here are two videos that help explain this event to a potential "book":

Human Library Explained in a Minute:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=fCGBXKy4Wuk&feature=emb_logo
CGCC Human Library 2017:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=CaTlgfDjKQs&feature=emb_logo

This event is designed to challenge stereotypes and biases and to promote connection. The goal is to support students and the community to develop and embrace stories of empowerment and resilience.

Being a “book” in this virtual library would involve sharing your story with students and the community and to answer questions during a 30-minute live-online conversation.

We all have stories, some of joy, some about overcoming and persevering, some humorous, some tragic, and some uplifting and full of hope. Your story may be any part of a chapter of your identity or your life story that you wish to share with students. Possibly your story shares the joy of serving others or of having been the light in someone’s life. Your story may be about leaving everything familiar and moving to a new country, battling cancer, struggling with depression or an eating disorder, or of feeling different from everyone around you.

A virtual book may want to share based on the following three-step example:

Tell a story about a time when you struggled and, as a result, questioned whether you belonged.
Explain how you persisted and managed to overcome this challenge and believe that you belonged.
Give advice that will help students who may be facing similar challenges to persist and believe that they also belong.

Click on the topics below to show a description of items from our Storytelling Checklist that you can use as a framework to begin to develop your story with examples:

[ ] Engaging Hook

Have you grabbed your audience’s attention with something unique right out of the gates - very first sentence?
Try using a metaphor

[ ] Strong Details & Word Choice

Are your details specific and interesting to a wide range of people? Did you avoid general words such as “things”, “stuff”, “really”, “kind of”...? Did you have specific times and locations as opposed to general ones?

General

6 or 7 pm in some trail in the Colorado Rockies
Late 90s and we had pretty good seats at the U2 concert
My grandmother made authentic Mexican flan with all of the usual stuff.

Better

It was a red and orange sunset on the Elk Trail of Rocky Mountain Park.
May 9th, 1997 and we were in the seventh row from the stage of the U2 concert in Sun Devil Stadium.
My grandmother made authentic Flan Mexicano with whole milk, fresh vanilla bean, and a touch of salt.

[ ] Provide Relevance & Context

Have I explained the information my audience needs to understand what’s happening?

Have I connected my story to issues and situations that compare or relate to things going on today in society or around the world?

[ ] Risk, Danger & Tension

Have I explained what I was risking in this story or what was at risk? Did I explain the kind of danger I was in? Have I helped my audience feel the “tension” (stress) I was under by expressing my emotions and reasons for them?

The risk and the danger is articulated AND the tension is gripping.

[ ] Climax is Controlled by Theme & Message

What is the most tense part of my story and did I specifically state, at that moment, how I was learning a lesson or experiencing change?

[ ] Metaphor

Did I compare my story or situation to something unlike it in two places? Early and late in the story?

Early

Young love is like a diamond because it glimmers and shines.

Late

My youthful romance was a luxury item that I wanted but I didn’t need.

[ ] Characters

Any characters in the story should have clear traits, motives, and goals.

[ ] Story Ending

The story ending both resolves the primary goal of main character and circles back to the metaphor, if you will "sowing the seeds of the metaphor."

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