Voice of Witness
Encyclopedia
| colspan="2" style="padding: 1em 0" | | |
| Established | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Co-Founders | Dave Eggers Dave Eggers Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,... , Lola Vollen |
| Exec. Dir. | Mimi Lok |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, CA California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... , USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
| Homepage | http://www.voiceofwitness.org |
Voice of Witness is a nonprofit book series that uses oral history
Oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
to document human rights crises and social injustices in the United States and around the world. The series has published five books that present narratives from exonerated men and women
Miscarriage of justice
A miscarriage of justice primarily is the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. The term can also apply to errors in the other direction—"errors of impunity", and to civil cases. Most criminal justice systems have some means to overturn, or "quash", a wrongful...
; residents of New Orleans before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
; undocumented workers
Immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants,...
in the United States; and persons abducted and displaced as a result of the civil war in southern Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
.
By using personal narratives, the series seeks to empower witnesses and survivors, generate awareness about social injustices and human rights issues, and provide documentation for educators, advocates, and policymakers. The editors of Voice of Witness utilize interviews, primary source documents, and extensive fact checking to construct the stories presented in each book. Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
, Voice of Witness co-founder and author, explained the project as "a partnership between the people telling their stories and the people transmitting them to the reader."
Founded by author and publisher Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
and physician and human rights scholar Lola Vollen, M.D., Voice of Witness is based in San Francisco, California.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
Books
Surviving Justice: America's Wrongfully Convicted and Exonerated (2005)- Co-edited by Dave EggersDave EggersDave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
and Lola Vollen
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- ISBN 978-1-934781-25-8
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Voices from the Storm: The People of New Orleans on Hurricane Katrina and Its Aftermath (2006)
- Co-edited by Lola Vollen and Chris Ying
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- ISBN 978-1-932416-68-8
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Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives (2008)
- Edited by Peter OrnerPeter OrnerPeter Orner is an American writer of fiction. He is the author of the novels Love and Shame and Love and The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo and the short story collection Esther Stories...
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- ISBN 978-1-934781-16-6
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En Las Sombras De Estados Unidos (2009) (The Spanish Language edition of Underground America.)
- Edited by Peter OrnerPeter OrnerPeter Orner is an American writer of fiction. He is the author of the novels Love and Shame and Love and The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo and the short story collection Esther Stories...
and Sandra Hernandez
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- ISBN 978-1-934781-16-6
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Out of Exile: The Abducted and Displaced People of Sudan (2008)
- Edited by Craig Walzer
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- ISBN 978-1-934781-28-9
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Reception
Critical reception for the Voice of Witness series has been positive. Publishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
lauded Underground America as "no less than revelatory." The San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
described Out of Exile as "[e]ssential...an admirable project." Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
reviewer John Freeman wrote: "Many of those who do survive (the Sudanese civil war) escape with nothing but their story, something this essential collection of oral testimony records and, in a realistic way, celebrates."
In its review of Surviving Justice, Boston's Weekly Dig
Weekly Dig
Boston's Weekly Dig sometimes just called the Weekly Dig or even just the Dig is a free alternative newsweekly found in Boston, Massachusetts. It offers commentary on music, arts, politics, technology, film, sex, food, drink and more, as well as local bar, entertainment and club listings, and...
praised the series' use of oral history
Oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
: “The nature of oral history ... allows the exonerees’ stories to be poignant and indignant without the earnestness, false empathy or guilt that would normally poison such subject matter.” The New Orleans Times Picayune called Voices from the Storm a "powerful book" that "draws its strength from the real voices of real New Orleanians."
Upcoming Books
Nowhere to Be Home: Narratives From Survivors of Burma’s Military Regime (Tentatively scheduled for 2010)Hope Deferred: Narratives of Zimbabwean Lives (Tentatively scheduled for 2010)
VOW in the Classroom
Voice of Witness has developed educational resources, including lesson planLesson plan
A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction for one class. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class instruction. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered, and the need and/or curiosity of children...
s for teaching Surviving Justice and Voices in the Storm in high school classrooms, and for instruction on oral history
Oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
. According to the Voice of Witness web site, the series has been utilized in both college and high school classrooms around the country, including Balboa High School
Balboa High School (San Francisco, California)
Balboa High School, colloquially known as Bal, is an American public high school located near the Excelsior District in the Mission Terrace neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Balboa serves grades nine through twelve as part of the San Francisco Unified School District .Balboa is a...
in San Francisco, California, Bentley School
Bentley School
Bentley School is a private co-educational college preparatory day school. The Bentley school's lower and middle school campus is located in the Oakland Hills and the high school campus is located in Lafayette, California.-History:...
in the San Francisco Bay Area, CUNY, Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, and San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
. Voice of Witness and the Facing History and Ourselves
Facing History and Ourselves
Facing History and Ourselves is an international organization that provides professional development services and curricular resources to educators. It was founded in 1976 by Margot Stern Strom and Bill Parsons...
organization have established a partnership to bring the series to additional classrooms.
Board of Directors/Board of Advisors
BOARD OF DIRECTORSDave Eggers
Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
Author, Publisher
Lola Vollen, M.D., Visiting Scholar, Institute for International Studies, University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
; Life After Exoneration Program, Executive Director
Jill Stauffer, Asst. Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Concentration in Peace, Justice and Human Rights, Haverford College
Haverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Roger Cohn, Former Editor-in-Chief, Mother Jones
Mother Jones (magazine)
Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...
Mark Danner
Mark Danner
Mark David Danner is a prominent American writer, journalist, and educator. He is a former staff writer for The New Yorker and frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books. Danner specializes in U.S. foreign affairs, war and politics, and has written extensively on Haiti, Central America,...
, Author, Professor, Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
Harry Kreisler, Executive Director, Institute for International Studies, University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
Martha Minow
Martha Minow
Martha Louise Minow is the Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law and the Dean of Harvard Law School. She teaches civil procedure, constitutional law, family law, international criminal justice, jurisprudence, law and education, nonprofit organizations, and the public law workshop...
, Dean, Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
Samantha Power
Samantha Power
Samantha Power is an Irish American academic, governmental official and writer. She is currently a Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and runs the Office of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights as Senior Director of Multilateral Affairs on the Staff of the National Security Council...
, Professor, John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
John Prendergast
John Prendergast
John Prendergast is an American human rights activist, author, and former Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council. He is the co-founder of the Enough Project, a non profit human rights organization affiliated with the Center for American Progress...
, Co-chair, The Enough Project
Enough Project
Enough is a project of the Center for American Progress , based in Washington, D.C., created to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Its Co-Founders are John Prendergast and Gayle Smith; its Executive Director is John C. Bradshaw, J.D....
Orville Schell
Orville Schell
Orville Hickock Schell III is an activist and writer working on China, and is the Arthus Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society in New York...
, Former Dean, Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
William T. Vollmann
William T. Vollmann
William Tanner Vollmann is an American novelist, journalist, short story writer, essayist and winner of the National Book Award...
, Author
FOUNDING ADVISOR
Studs Terkel
Studs Terkel
Louis "Studs" Terkel was an American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for The Good War, and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.-Early...
(Deceased), Author, Oral Historian
See also
- Oral HistoryOral historyOral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
- Miscarriage of Justice
- Hurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
- Immigration to the United StatesImmigration to the United StatesImmigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants,...
- SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
- McSweeney'sMcSweeney'sMcSweeney's is an American publishing house founded by editor Dave Eggers.Apart from its book list, McSweeney's is responsible for four regular publications: the quarterly literary journal,...
- Dave EggersDave EggersDave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...