How One New Bedford Program Helps Multicultural Women Publish Unfiltered Personal Stories

Paula Robinson Deare loves working with people and helping them tell their stories. Thanks to grants from New Bedford Creative's "Art Is Everywhere" program, Deare has been working with multicultural women to share their stories with the wider community.

Deare visited the Townsquare Sunday studios to talk about her work and why multicultural women sharing their stories is important.

Deare has lived in New Bedford for 10 years, but for the last 40 years she has used her education and broadcasting experience to help women share their stories and bring greater understanding to the rest of us. For the past two years, Deare has created what she calls the "Multicultural Women Writers Salon."

Preserving SouthCoast History Through Local Voices

"I've found that a lot of stories around people of color have historically been stereotyped negatively or left out," she said. "Multicultural women have a difficult time getting their stories out to the public as legacy pieces for future generations."

"I offered the 'Art Is Everywhere' program the concept of creating a journal of stories of local women of color to help people learn about ethnic history of women here on the SouthCoast, and we've been funded now for two years," Deare said.

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The 'Art Is Everywhere' Grant and Writing Process

"I spent six months teaching women how to write their stories. A large group of women come in initially, but writing is not an easy thing to do," she said. "It doesn't pay and it's often a difficult thing to stick with, but the women who stay through the entire program get their story published into a journal."

This is Deare's second year creating the "Multicultural Women Writers Salon." The stories of local women, written by the women themselves, can be read at Eworkstyle.org.

Stories of Resilience, Heritage, and Healing

This year's stories are compelling. One local woman wrote about deciding to end a three-generation cycle of teenage motherhood. Another woman shared the story of piecing together life after her father's murder and her mother's survival.

Another woman wrote about her Cape Verdean grandmother's journey to Nantucket, and Deare offered her own story of finding and naming a grandmother lost to history.

"The connecting theme of these stories is resilience, manifesting their own identity, and creating happiness out of whatever circumstance they were in," she said.

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