Powerstories Theatre stages true stories to open minds and hearts and inspire action worldwide.
Each week we will share 8 submissions or more from our neighbors around the city, country, and globe. Please enjoy all the stories that bring a smile to our faces and joy to our hearts. To send us your own story, click the button to complete our form, and upload your own work.
After you’ve finished, please click take the survey at the bottom of this page to let us know your favorites.
Video by Founder Fran Powers
Story Submitted By Janice Creneti
I learn from wise women in history. Like Margaret Meade who says “ Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” And when I loose faith, I think about Rosa Parks. She had every excuse NOT to stand up for herself. She did what she could do right then, right there. She sat in the front of the bus and she didn’t move!? And her one action created a ripple that changed the world. There is a Rosa in each of us; we just need to set her free.
PAST PERFORMER
Poetry Submitted By Suzanne S. Austin-Hill
Call: Favorite Women in History: Ruby Nell Bridges, age 6
The Accuracy of the Painter’s Eye
Norman never saw Ruby
when she was a little girl making history.
He just painted her the way he imagined.
Starched, crisp whites cover her sweet, dark chocolate
skin;
This highest of contrasts is a harbinger of the storm that
rages around her calm.
The white ribbon in her hair seems to sway ever so
slightly like a tiny flag signaling
her innocent surrender to the storm
she knows nothing about.
She is a small, yet commanding presence.
Her profile reveals a Mona Lisa-like smile.
The little girl looks straight ahead,
dreams wildly,
and cradles in her hand
two notebooks, two pencils and a ruler.
She is focused, inwardly excited and prepared.
But, the wall parallel to her walk bears the marks of the storm – A web-like splatter from a red, ripe tomato,
Drips leave a trail that ends at the sidewalk;
Smashed pieces of its flesh and pulp
confirm the target of the unsuccessful pitcher.
The little girl named Ruby.
The N-word sits right above her head.
A triplet of Ks curve upward.
Two Deputy U. S. Marshals
walk three paces behind her.
Another two walk one pace ahead.
The Lead Marshal has the integration order
tucked in his pocket. They are faceless.
It is clear who the hero is not.
Norman never saw Ruby
when she was a little girl making history.
He just painted her the way she was – a kindergartener
thinking the commotion ahead was Mardi Gras.
Sixty-seven Pages from the Heart
Suzanne S. Austin-Hill
© December 31, 2019
Kindle Direct Publishing
2nd Honorable Mention
2019 Annual Poetry Contest
National Federation of State Poetry Societies, Inc.
Al Laster Memorial Award – Ekphrastic poem
Video Submitted by Girlstories Leadership Theatre by Powerstories Theatre
Story Submitted By Baxter Powers
My mommy is an amazing woman. Honored at The White House, Community Hero, rode her bike across the US which resulted in Powerstories. Great Mom to my five brothers sand sisters.
First Photo – Here I am with my Papa and my little sister Lulu. It was our first day in our new home. My Mom was always taking pictures of us.
Second Photo – Here I am with Lulu again. She was always pinning me down! Argh!
Third Photo – Here I am today. All grown up. I watch over my Mom and Dad and my little sister. We all love each other.
Story Submitted By Joyce Hindman
My mother was born in 1924. In 1948, she married a returned soldier, my father. She was a feisty Irish-German ancestry lady, mostly a woman of her time: homemaker, mother. But she was also quietly strong, and she taught her three daughters how to be supportive of a husband but not a doormat, how to make the best when things get hard. To always have your door open, and never let anyone leave your table hungry. She was always her own self, so much so that when she and my father married, she took “and obey” out of her vows; a somewhat shocking thing for a good Methodist girl. They were married nearly 50 years, until his death, and she never did obey.
Artwork Submitted By Kaedin Cammareri
Story Submitted By Amanda Pugh
Sue Shelton White- native of Jackson Tn who was a pioneer in the women’s suffrage movement and played a major part in Tennessee’s being the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. Also Annie Webb Blanton, founder of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international organization for women educators. These women’s are my personal heroes for their amazing efforts to better women.
Story Submitted By Rebecca Schweigert
This is not my story but that of Belva Ann Lockwood, who is sadly under represented in history. SHE was the first legitimate woman POTUS candidate when she ran in 1884 because Victoria Woodhull wasn’t old enough to serve if elected. Ms. Lockwood was the 1st woman to earn the right to argue in front of SCOTUS. She did a lot of what she did as a single mother, too. Here is more information about her. What an inspiration! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belva_Ann_Lockwood
Story Submitted By Michele Lewis-Muzzatti
My maternal grandmother was born in 1905, the oldest of 7 children. Her mother died when she was 16 leaving her to raise her younger siblings as her father was an alcoholic. She didn’t marry until she was 31 and my grandfather was 5 years younger: an original cougar! LOL! My grandmother was a badass. There wasn’t anything she couldn’t do. After my grandfather died, she got her driver’s license @ 72 years old. She also cut her own grass (nearly 1/2 an acre) with a push mower well into her 70s. I’m so grateful to have had her as a big part of my life and have inherited a piece of her tenacity and fierceness.
Story Submitted By Pegotty Cooper
My mother always had a different view. As an awkward teenager, my sister and I would obsess about how we looked, our blatant imperfections, the style of our clothes, our hand-me-down. Mom would say “no one will notice on a galloping horse”! It may have seemed like an archaic idea – after all we didn’t use horses anymore for getting from here to there. But years later, I still remember the saying, long after my mother has galloped on! She lived her life on a galloping horse! Always moving, always engaged in something interesting. She was never at a loss for stories about recent adventures, or tales of trying new things. To her, if you had time to worry about the small stuff, it was time to get on the galloping horse because then no one would notice as you whizzed by! The future is nothing if not an adventure!
PAST PERFORMER
Video Submitted By Alexandra Wright
Video Submitted By Kerry Shea
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