Sisonke Msimang is a South African writer whose work is focussed on race, gender and democracy. She has written for a range of international publications including the New York Times, the Guardian, Newsweek and Al Jazeera. Her first book — Always Another Country: a memoir of exile and home — was published in South Africa in October 2017.
In her 2016 TED talk she explored the importance and dangers of a story. Speaing on how powerful a story can be and how a story can also get in the way of action towards social justice. here are 5 things we learnt from Sisomke Msimang’s TED talk.
- Stories are the antidote to bias. they heal the rifts and the bridge divides.
- Stories are powerful and can also be dangerous. As much as people say stories make the world a better place, even the most pointing stories about people who no one seems to care about can get in the way of action towards social justice
- Good intentions can have unintended consequences.
- Stories can create an illusion on solidarity and sometimes,insufficient steps towards social action.
- You don’t have to like someone to recognize their wisdom and you definitely don’t need to like someone to take a stand by their side.
Stories are necessary, but they’re not as magical as they seem.
