The students of Wesleyan College will take the stage with personal stories about race and justice for Storytellers Macon: Live at Wesleyan College on November 5 at 7:30 p.m. The theme will be “Still Bending the Arc,” a reflection based on the popular Martin Luther King Jr. quote, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

The storytelling theme is described as follows: “Many lives have been born, matured, and even died in the six decades since King said those words, but the struggles of racial justice and equity are still weighing on our steps as society attempts to come full circle and heal the wounds of generational trauma.”

The performance is a partnership between Storytellers Macon, a local nonprofit that seeks to pass off the mic one person at a time, and Wesleyan College’s Lane Center for Social and Racial Equity as part of their “Crafting Democratic Futures” project, funded by the Mellon Foundation. 

Wesleyan students first received a story circles workshop from Storytellers Macon’s director of fine arts Julia Rubens before being chosen to take place in the performance, with each student assigned a Storytellers Macon listening mentor to prepare for the show. The show will be hosted by Koryn Young, executive director of Storytellers Macon  and feature special guest Tonya Parker, chief diversity officer and dean for equity and inclusion at Wesleyan College. Cast members include Malaycia Sanders, Kourtney Joseph, Alyssa Miller and Autumn Hamilton.

This call-and-response performance series will first hear from the perspectives of featured college-aged students in this performance, as they navigate race and culture as a function of their identity. In February 2023, these students will support and listen to elders over the age of 65 as they take the mic to explain how they have twisted and endured bending the arc over their lifetimes.

The performance will take place in Wesleyan College’s Black Box Theatre in the Porter Auditorium building, with signs directing visitors to campus from the main entrance off of Forsyth Road. Tickets are $15 for the general public and are available online at Eventbrite or at the door.