I’m Rodney Dawson, and I’d call myself a storyteller. I also use media to do it. I understand that my journey as an artist started with my first official career move…the military.
It was meeting people from around the world in all kinds of circumstances that helped me understand how much we share. I’m thinking of a conversation I had with an Iraqi prisoner of war. He was detained as an enemy prisoner of war during the Persian Gulf War. He also spoke English. During our brief 30–45-minute interaction, he showed me pictures of his family and shared his aspirations. I remember thinking: “He wants the same things out of life that I do.” I left the military with a greater appreciation for diverse people, and I wanted to hear more stories. It sounds shameful to write that it took a war to teach me this lesson.
After leaving the Army, I began working in radio. Not only was I continuing to be around people and developing relationships, but I was learning how to take-in information, convey a message, and distribute to the public in an engaging way (storytelling).
I then began working as a K-12 educator. I told stories all day in the classroom to keep my students engaged while weaving in learning content. I continued to work on the craft earning a master’s and educational specialist degree in education.
Teaching is where I learned pedagogy, theories, and most importantly the need to meet people where they are. I ended up becoming an exceptional listener, interpreter, in fact I became a certified interpreter, and I became an instructional technologist which means I use technology to teach.
My passion is to help share the stories of traditionally marginalized, underrepresented, and undervalued communities, and I love to use technology to do it.
I moved onto the Greensboro History Museum and a short stint at the NC African American Heritage Commission where I did just that. I’ve read, conducted webinars, Black History tours of East Greensboro, and served on the curriculum review team for “The History of Black Education in North Carolina”; however, much of what I’ve learned comes directly from spending time with our community story-keepers who’ve allowed me to listen while they shared their rich history.
Now, I’d like to pay it forward, and I get to use a podcast to help make it happen…let’s go.
With support from the National Endowment for the Arts, The ACGG is launching a storytelling project in Southeast Greensboro. We’re honored to have Rodney Dawson serving as an Artist-in-Residence to help collect and share these stories.
