Voice of Witness
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Voice of Witness is a non-profit organization that uses oral history to illuminate contemporary human rights crises in the U.S. and around the world through an oral history book series (published by McSweeney's) and an education program. Voice of Witness publish books that present narratives from survivors of human rights crises including: exonerated men and women; residents of New Orleans before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina;
undocumented workers Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...
in the United States; and persons abducted and displaced as a result of the civil war in southern Sudan. The Voice of Witness Education Program brings these stories, and the issues they reflect, into high schools and impacted communities through oral history-based curricula and holistic educator support. By using personal narratives, the series seeks to empower witnesses and survivors, generate awareness about social injustices and human rights issues, and provide documentation for educators, advocates, and policymakers. The editors of ''Voice of Witness'' utilize interviews, primary source documents, and extensive fact checking to construct the stories presented in each book.
Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...
, ''Voice of Witness'' co-founder and author, describes the project as "a partnership between the people telling their stories and the people transmitting them to the reader." The Voice of Witness book series was founded in 2004 by author
Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...
and physician Lola Vollen, M.D.
Mimi Lok Mimi Lok is a British-Chinese author, editor, and educator. She is the recipient of a Smithsonian (magazine), Smithsonian Ingenuity Award, A PEN America Award, and a California Book Award for Fiction. She is also the founder of Voice of Witness, ...
joined in 2008 as Executive Director & Executive Editor, and turned Voice of Witness into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Voice of Witness is based in
San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
.


Books

* ''Surviving Justice: America's Wrongfully Convicted and Exonerated'' (2005). Co-edited by
Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...
and
Lola Vollen Laurie Lola Vollen is a scholar and human rights activist. She specializes in the repercussions of large-scale human rights abuses. Background Vollen graduated from Princeton in 1978 as a psychology major.
. * ''Voices from the Storm: The People of New Orleans on Hurricane Katrina and Its Aftermath'' (2006). Co-edited by
Lola Vollen Laurie Lola Vollen is a scholar and human rights activist. She specializes in the repercussions of large-scale human rights abuses. Background Vollen graduated from Princeton in 1978 as a psychology major.
and Chris Ying. * ''Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives'' (2008). Edited by
Peter Orner Peter Orner is an American writer. He is the author of two novels, two story collections and a book of essays. Orner holds the Professorship of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College and was formerly a professor of creative writing at ...
. * ''En Las Sombras De Estados Unidos'' (2009) (The Spanish Language edition of ''Underground America''.). Edited by
Peter Orner Peter Orner is an American writer. He is the author of two novels, two story collections and a book of essays. Orner holds the Professorship of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College and was formerly a professor of creative writing at ...
and Sandra Hernandez. * ''Out of Exile: The Abducted and Displaced People of Sudan'' (2008). Edited by Craig Walzer. * ''Hope Deferred: Narratives of Zimbabwean Lives'' (2010). Edited by
Peter Orner Peter Orner is an American writer. He is the author of two novels, two story collections and a book of essays. Orner holds the Professorship of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College and was formerly a professor of creative writing at ...
and Annie Holmes. * ''Nowhere to Be Home: Narratives from Survivors of Burma's Military Regime'' (2010). Edited by Maggie Lemere and Zoë West. * ''Patriot Acts: Narratives of Post-9/11 Injustice'' (2011). Edited by Alia Malek. * ''Inside This Place, Not of It: Narratives from Women's Prisons'' (2011). Edited by
Ayelet Waldman Ayelet Waldman ( he, איילת ולדמן, born December 11, 1964) is an Israeli-American novelist and essayist. She has written seven mystery novels in the series ''The Mommy-Track Mysteries'' and four other novels. She has also written autobio ...
and Robin Levi. * ''Throwing Stones at the Moon: Narratives from Colombians Displaced by Violence'' (2012). Edited by Sibylla Brodzinsky and Max Schoening. * ''Refugee Hotel'' (2012). Edited by Juliet Linderman, Photography by Gabriele Stabile. * ''High-Rise Stories: Narratives from Chicago Public Housing'' (2013). Edited by Audrey Petty. * ''Invisible Hands: Voices from the Global Economy'' (2014). Edited by Corinne Goria. * ''Palestine Speaks: Narratives of Life Under Occupation'' (2014). Edited by Cate Malek, Mateo Hoke. * ''The Voice of Witness Reader: Ten Years of Amplifying Unheard Voices'' (2015). Edited by
Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...
. * ''Chasing the Harvest: Migrant Workers in California Agriculture'' (2017). Edited by Gabriel Thompson. * ''Lavil: Life, Love, and Death in Port-au-Prince'' (2017). Edited by Evan Lyon, Peter Orner. * ''Six by Ten: Stories from Solitary'' (2018). Edited by Taylor Pendergrass. * ''Say it Forward: A Guide to Social Justice Storytelling'' (2018). Edited by Claire Kiefer, Cliff Mayotte, Erin Vong, Natalie Catasús. * Solito, Solita: Crossing Borders with Youth Refugees from Central America (2019). Edited by
Jonathan Freedman Jonathan Freedman (born April 11, 1950) is an American journalist, writer, and social activist who won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing. Biography Freedman was born in Rochester, Minnesota, where his father finished his residency ...
, Steven Mayers. * ''How We Go Home: Voices from Indigenous North America'' (2020). Edited by Sara Sinclair. * ''Mi María: Surviving the Storm: Voices from Puerto Rico'' (2021). Edited by Marci Denesiuk, Ricia Anne Chansky.


Reception

Critical reception for the ''Voice of Witness'' series has been positive. ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' lauded ''Underground America'' as "no less than revelatory." The ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...
'' described ''Out of Exile'' as " sential...an admirable project." ''Chronicle'' reviewer John Freeman wrote: "Many of those who do survive (the Sudanese civil war) escape with nothing but their story, something this essential collection of oral testimony records and, in a realistic way, celebrates." In its review of ''Surviving Justice'', Boston's ''
Weekly Dig ''DigBoston''—formerly known as the ''Weekly Dig'' and known colloquially as ''The Dig''—is a free alternative newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts. It covers news in the Greater Boston area and offers commentary on music, arts, politics, busin ...
'' praised the series' use of oral history: “The nature of oral history ... allows the exonerees’ stories to be poignant and indignant without the earnestness, false empathy or guilt that would normally poison such subject matter.” The New Orleans ''
Times Picayune ''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...
'' called ''Voices from the Storm'' a "powerful book" that "draws its strength from the real voices of real New Orleanians."


VOW in the classroom

''Voice of Witness'' has developed core standard-aligned educational resources, including
lesson plan A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction or "learning trajectory" for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details will vary depending on the preference of the tea ...
s for teaching ''Surviving Justice'' and ''Voices in the Storm'' in high school classrooms, and for instruction on oral history. According to the ''Voice of Witness'' web site, the series has been utilized in both college and high school classrooms around the country, including Balboa High School in San Francisco, California, Bentley School in the San Francisco Bay Area, CUNY, Brown University, Valley High School Louisville, KY, and
San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...
. ''Voice of Witness'' and the Facing History and Ourselves organization have established a partnership to bring the series to additional classrooms.


Founding editors

Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...
Author, Publisher Lola Vollen, M.D., Visiting Scholar, Institute for International Studies,
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
; Life After Exoneration Program, Executive Director


Board of Directors/Board of Advisors


Board of directors

Lupe Poblano, Director & Treasurer Nicole Janisiewicz, Director & Secretary Niles Xi’an Lichtenstein, Director Kristine Leja, Chair Hilda Vega, Director
Mimi Lok Mimi Lok is a British-Chinese author, editor, and educator. She is the recipient of a Smithsonian (magazine), Smithsonian Ingenuity Award, A PEN America Award, and a California Book Award for Fiction. She is also the founder of Voice of Witness, ...
, Co-founder & Executive Director


Founding board of advisors

Roger Cohn, Former Editor-in-Chief,
Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...
Mark Danner Mark David Danner (born November 10, 1958) is an American writer, journalist, and educator. He is a former staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' and frequent contributor to ''The New York Review of Books''. Danner specializes in U.S. foreign affa ...
, Author, Professor, Graduate School of Journalism,
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
Harry Kreisler Harry Kreisler () is an American historian who was formerly executive director of the Institute of International Studies at University of California, Berkeley. He is best known as the creator and host of the television program Conversations with H ...
, Executive Director, Institute for International Studies,
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
Martha Minow Martha Louise Minow (born December 6, 1954) is an American legal scholar and the 300th Anniversary University Professor at Harvard University. She served as the Dean of Harvard Law School between 2009 and 2017 and has taught at the Law School sin ...
, Dean, Harvard Law School,
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
Samantha Power Samantha Jane Power (born September 21, 1970) is an American journalist, diplomat and government official who is currently serving as the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. She previously served as the 28th ...
, Professor,
John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
,
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
John Prendergast, Co-chair, The Enough Project
Orville Schell Orville Hickock Schell III (born May 20, 1940) is an American writer, academic, and activist. He is known for his works on China, and is the Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society in New York. He previousl ...
, Former Dean, Graduate School of Journalism,
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
William T. Vollmann, Author Studs Terkel (Deceased), Author, Oral Historian


See also

:* Oral History :* Miscarriage of Justice :* Hurricane Katrina :*
Immigration to the United States Immigration has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. In absolute numbers, the United States has a larger immigrant population than any other country in the worl ...
:* Sudan :*
McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. Initially publishing the literary journal'' Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', the company has moved to ...
:*
Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...


References

{{Reflist


External links

:
Official Web site
:
McSweeneys.net
:
McSweeneys store
:
Facebook
Fan Page American non-fiction books Organizations based in San Francisco 2004 establishments in California