Storytelling is a form of power because it allows us to shape the way other people view things and other people. It can strengthen or challenge our opinions and does not always have a negative impact. It sends a message to others whether that message is for the better or for the worse. Furthermore, storytelling can also inspire others to tell their own stories and to take action. Especially when the story is told eloquently and with passion, these stories can move people and make them want to make changes in the world and in themselves. Story telling is very powerful and that is why it is important the single story can be dangerous.

 

When talking about power and storytelling, it’s important to note who society has given voice to for centuries. Who have been the people granted power to write stories? Who have been the people who have been granted the opportunity to teach, or to learn how to write or tell stories? For centuries, it was white men. Only in recent history have women, BIPOC, and members of the LGBTQ community been granted the same platforms and attention to tell stories. The chance to write or tell a story is the power to shape someone’s entire understanding of a concept, person, or place. It’s so important to remember this as educators, the value of incorporating more than just a “single story” through representative texts, discussions to unpack an author’s perspective, and opportunities for students to reflect on their own identities and experiences separate from that of a storyteller’s.

Ms. Adichie understood why her college roommate had stereotypes about Africa and Africans because she also had her own about Fide and his family. She understood that these views had been shaped by popular media and the society her roommate grew up in and lived in. The same way her “single story” about Fide and his family had been shaped by her mother, Adichie’s honesty about Fide and her visit to Mexico should be a lesson to all on how to address and confront personal implicit biases and stereotypes. Personally, I did and most probably still have implicit biases in me, even though I was on the receiving end of stereotypes as an immigrant from a war-torn country in the 1990's. It was incomprehensible to me to grasp how people who did not know anything about me or Yugoslavia (even where it is on the globe) felt called upon to feel pity or judge me when they heard where I am from. I didn't judge them or feel hurt in any way because I knew it was a product of what they were  reading, hearing, and seeing in the news. We must realize that all people and places are diverse and have many sides and shades defining them. 

As educators, we must first truly know our students well. Students cannot become a “single story” for us. We must form meaningful relationships with them, based on mutual trust and respect if we want to be able to teach them. Only then we will be granted the privilege of teaching them to think effectively and critically about what they are learning, reading, and seeing.

 

Storytelling is a form of power in that it is often those who have the privilege and resources to tell stories whose stories are recorded in history. Observe the syllabus of any survey English college course and you will recognize a plethora of works from the canon; most of which were written by straight, white, able-bodied, Christian men. This is partially due to the fact that people of color, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ individuals have been socially, economically, and politically limited which has affected their stories from being recorded despite that these communities’ stories have just as much value of being taught. There have been numerous debates over the content of history classes (from primary to post secondary) regarding Critical Race Theory, for instance, which would allow for students to have a better understanding of the oppression committed against African Americans in this country (which is a crucial element of their stories). The publishing industry has recently been under fire for its lack of diversity, and thus promotion of bias in deciding whose stories are published. 

This video illustrates the importance of being willing to evaluate our conceptions about other people. If we are not committed to expanding our mind, then our beliefs will never change and we won’t learn to think beyond our own upbringing, identities, etc. As teachers, it is critical that we are modeling to our students what it looks like to meaningfully explore other perspectives. It is equally important that we do not judge our students based on their backgrounds and limit them to a single story, but instead consider the potential of the whole child.

-Whitney Graham

Ms. Chimamanda also mentions that when we reject a single story, we regain a kind of paradise. This line is so beautifully said. What I think she means by this is to be free of arrogance and that attitude of superiority. It is almost freeing and calming to be an open minded person, being aware and accepting of not knowing EVERYTHING there is to know about everything in the world...and letting others introduce you to completely brand new things you werent aware of. The problem with the single story is that people are being painted in the same color, putting them in a box and labeling them with the same label. Having a single point of view about people and cultures, especially in relationships and literature, is a missed opportunity for people of all different races, and a missed opportunity to have gained quality knowledge is a shame. As educators, I believe it is our duty to holistically accept others as they are, and to be an open book as well. I want students to educate me on their identities and my goal is to let them know that I do not have an implicit bias already, and that I would love to learn more from them as that primary source of information.

Adiche describes us as being impressionable and vulnerable when confronted with a story, because all stories come from a position of power. To name something, to confidently describe something, is to perform a kind of mastery over it. This is why it is so important for us to ask our students, again and again, to tell their own stories and see themselves as creators. I was quite struck by this repetition in Achibe’s anecdotes: the people who only had a single story -- Fide and his family, the people of Guadalajara -- were at first not allowed to be makers. It was inconceivable that they would have the creative agency to make a beautiful raffia basket or a plate of perfect, steaming tortillas. Creative self-determination is a powerful antidote to the ignorance of others.