“The shortest distance between truth and the human heart is a story.”
-Anthony DeMello
About Undocumented Stories
Undocumented Stories it's an outreach project from the department of Education Beyond the Walls, part of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. This project gives voice to the men, women, and children who daily suffer under current U.S. immigration policies. Undocumented Stories connects and educates people through storytelling. We explore the authentic human struggle of people seeking equality and human rights.
Undocumented Stories offerings include:
· Storytelling events (in person and online), in which three to five Latino immigrants share their stories in front of a live audience.
· A traveling gallery of of personal, handwritten stories from members of the immigrant Latino community. These stories were collected in different immigration clinics, events, and gatherings in Austin, Texas, throughout 2017-2018. More than one hundred handwritten stories have been collected, preserved, and translated into English.
· Workshops about immigration, including the “Five Immigration Myths and a Plan of Action.”
· An online course called “The Truth in Our Stories”, with a theological reflection offered with a facilitator.
· A book called “The Truth in Our Stories,” which is an excellent educational resource for congregations, small groups, youth groups and schools to further their understanding of the complex topic of immigration.
· Children's books: “Holy Stranger” which tells the story of Jesus, as an immigrant; and “Doki: the immigrant dog,” which tells the true story of a dog that came on foot all the way from Venezuela to the Texas/Mexico border with his family seeking asylum.
"When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."
-Leviticus 19:33-34
GET INVOLVED
As one storyteller states,
“We are not aliens we are human beings. At the level of the heart, we are the same. We want the same things as you–a safe place to live, a future for our children, a place to work and contribute to society.”
We believe that to understand more about immigration, we need to the stories from the people directly impacted by the immigration policy.
Would you consider hosting a storytelling event and help us reach and educate more people?
An educational outreach of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
