Don Reed (center) headlined an evening of community storytelling.
It was standing room only when Courtney Haile welcomed local storytellers and one special out-of-town guest to the stage at Kreuzberg in downtown San Luis Obispo on October 18.
Haile, the executive director of R.A.C.E. Matters SLO, was introducing the sixth annual “Stories Matter,” a curated showcase featuring community members of color sharing true personal stories. This year the theme of the evening was “kinship.”
The special guest was Don Reed, a comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, and solo performer. An NPR Snap Judgment Storyteller of the Year, he is a newly minted Simon & Schuster author. His solo storytelling shows have won and been nominated for multiple Theatre Bay Area, Off Broadway, and San Francisco Theatre Critcs Cirlce awards. Reed also has written and directed several short films for HBO.
Host Aletheia Higgins also welcomed storytellers Ashley Brown, Mario Espinoza-Kulick, Thomas Fowler, Tamesha Lee, Darren McDuffie, and Cristiano Ortiz to the stage during the three-hour event.
The evening was part of R.A.C.E. Matter’s mission to create artistic, cultural, educational, and social experiences that amplify Black voices and matters of racial justice in San Luis Obispo.