Portraits and classroom photography for Who Tells the Story, a Boulder nonprofit using poetry and storytelling to build bridges across differences.
Who Tells the Story is a Boulder nonprofit built on a simple idea: who tells the story matters. People come from different places and carry different perspectives. A lot of what separates us comes down to missing information and misunderstanding. Hearing someone's story from the person who lived it is how that gap starts to close.
Portraits that build connection
It began in 2021 in Amanda Cherry's 6th grade language arts classroom at Southern Hills Middle School. Amanda had taught about race through novels and nonfiction for years, yet she felt a gap she couldn't close on her own. Through YWCA Boulder County, she met Norma Johnson, a poet and racial justice educator, and the two built a partnership around closing it.
Several times a year, Norma visits Amanda's classroom to share a poem tied to the unit's theme, using words like courage, identity, and empathy. Students then use her poetry and stories to connect with their own reading, writing, and lives. The work isn't limited to kids. Their community programs bring teachers, parents, faith groups, and neighbors into the same kind of conversation.
Once you hear someone's story in their own voice, it gets harder to see them as "other." You start to understand them, empathize with them, and recognize the common tapestry of humanity we all share. That's the bridge Amanda and Norma are building across Colorado.
I photographed Amanda and Norma together outdoors. I also spent time in Amanda's classroom during one of Norma's visits, as she shared her poem "Like Air" with the students. Those images now carry their story on their website.
Once you hear someone's story in their own voice, it gets harder to see them as "other."
