Revealing untold stories
The stories we tell are what we remember. They shape our understanding of our community and our world. They become our history.
But only a few stories are told.
Many Iowans don’t know about the role the Hmong people played in supporting the U.S. during the Vietnam War and that Iowa was the first state to offer resettlement to refugees from Southeast Asia. We don’t talk about how immigration has enabled our agricultural economy to thrive. We hear statistics about the challenges people of color experience, but we don’t listen to stories about falling in love or the significant contributions they have made to Iowa’s communities.
We need a different way to collect and remember our history.
Every year since 2015, ArtForce Iowa has created a month-long celebration of social justice in art. #KNOWJUSTICE aims to elevate the voices of young people who have survived horrific injustices and childhood trauma. In 2021, ArtForce Iowa launched the #KNOWJUSTICE: The Legacy Collection project to gather, preserve and share a collective history of Iowa through Iowans’ stories. These stories will be captured in a variety of forms, such as recorded interviews, essays, songs, animations, art, or journals. The stories will then be shared in these ways:
A website that is free to the public and easy to explore through keywords and categories
Books that capture a collection of stories under a theme
Lesson plans for K-12 classes
Discussion guides for groups to use
#KNOWJUSTICE: The Legacy Collection is about archiving and elevating the many voices that make up our state so we can expand and reshape dominant narratives that perpetuate harm and oppression. We want to support our educators in using these stories as they talk about our history and our culture with the next generation. These are stories that are shaped by our community and belong to our community. By knowing our history, we can learn from our past, celebrate our heritage, and work together for a brighter future for all Iowans.