The Importance of Art and Culture in Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations: A Conversation with Valerie Tutson

Late in 2022, the LLC’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee launched a series of webinars on the City of Providence’s social justice process known as Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations. The webinar series offers opportunities to talk with community members who are working to move the City’s process forward. We invite you to join us as we continue the webinar series with a conversation with Valerie Tutson, a member of the African American Ambassadors Group’s subcommittee on Art and Culture.

The African American Ambassadors Group believes that art and culture have an important role to play in advancing social justice through truth telling, reconciliation and reparations. Stories, music and visual arts can be some of the most compelling ways to share historical facts, tell hard truths about the past and share visions for the future. The emotion and joy we find in music and art has the power to bring people of different backgrounds together.

A graduate of Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in Storytelling as a Communications Art and a master’s degree in Theatre Arts, Valerie Tutson has been using stories to entertain and educate children and adults in schools, churches, libraries, festivals and conferences since 1991. Her compelling stories and songs, emphasizing African traditions and the African American experience, continue centuries of tradition of sharing and passing down community history through storytelling. She is a founding member of the Rhode Island Black Storytellers (RIBS) and of Funda Fest, an annual Celebration of Black Storytelling that in 2023 will mark its 25th anniversary.

Join us as we talk with Valerie about the importance of arts and culture as an instrument for opening minds, bringing folks together and taking creative approaches to problem solving. Hear about the African American Ambassadors Group’s plans for working with the new administration to continue to advance Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations in 2023. And learn how you can join in celebrating Funda Fest’s 25th birthday.