Your Voice, Your Power
A story is how we understand ourselves, other people, and the world around us. It tells us how past events have shaped our lives to be what it is today. When we tell our stories, we give ourselves a chance to tell our truths and validate our experiences. We are all connected by the millions of stories we hear, tell, and live every day. By empowering ourselves through storytelling, we can empower others in our communities. It’s important to trust in the power of your voice. By doing this, you may inspire others around you to speak their truths as well.
When we share our stories, we offer ourselves a chance to connect deeply with others and the world. Explore The New York Public Library's collection of books, databases, and credible online resources on the power of your voice.
"Your Voice, Your Power" is episode two of “Express Your Power”, a four-part, nationally-recognized media and information literacy learning video series produced by Media Smart Citizens in partnership with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) of The New York Public Library.
Books
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by ISBN: 9780345350688Publication Date: 1987-10-12In the searing pages of this classic autobiography, originally published in 1964, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and anti-integrationist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Black Muslim movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American Dream, and the inherent racism in a society that denies its nonwhite citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America 1619-2019 by ISBN: 9780593134047Publication Date: 2021-02-02A chorus of extraordinary voices tells the epic story of a four-hundred-year journey of African Americans from 1619 to the present. This is a history that illuminates our past and gives us new ways of thinking about our future, written by the most vital and essential voices of our present.
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by ISBN: 9780316322409Publication Date: 2013-10-08I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons. I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.
New Yorkers: A City and Its People in Our Time by ISBN: 9780393242324Publication Date: 2021-03-23Journalist Craig Taylor weaves the voices of some of the New York City's best talkers into an indelible portrait of New York in our time--and a powerful hymn to the vitality and resilience of its people.
Databases
The New York Public Library offers a number of digitized collections of current and historic newspapers and magazines from all across the world. Explore the Library's extensive collection of databases relating to News, Media, Journalism, and Publishing, as well as searchable full-text and page images of Magazines, Journals, and Serials.
With your NYPL library card, you can also access popular magazines through Flipster and current newspapers from around the world through Press Reader.
See below for a selection of databases that are accessible with a New York Public Library card.
- Alternative Press IndexThe Alternative Press Index indexes more than 300 alternative, radical, and left publications that report and analyze the practices and theories of cultural, economic, political, and social change.
- LGBT Life with Full TextLGBT Life provides complete indexing and abstracting of content related to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender studies in over 230 journals, magazines, and newspapers. LGBT Life also provides full text from a number of important sources including monographs and publications such as The Advocate, New York Blade, and Out.
- Newspapers.com This link opens in a new windowThe largest online newspaper archive consisting of 300+ million pages of historical newspapers from 11,100+ newspapers from around the United States and beyond.
- New York Times (1851-2020) w/ Index This link opens in a new windowSearchable full-text and page images from The New York Times archive with the option to search by subject headings (index covers 1851-1993).
- New York Times (1980-present) This link opens in a new windowFull-text articles from The New York Times, New York Book Review (1997 to the present), and New York Magazine (1997 to the present).
Live From NYPL
Stand with Salman: Defend the Freedom to Write
Writers worldwide stand in solidarity with Salman Rushdie and celebrate his extraordinary literary accomplishments, undaunted courage, and tireless advocacy for the freedom of expression and the plight of imperiled writers everywhere. Presented in partnership with PEN America and House of SpeakEasy. To learn more, please visit the event page.
LIVE from NYPL is made possible by the continuing generosity of Celeste Bartos, Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos and Adam Bartos, the Margaret and Herman Sokol Public Education Endowment Fund, and the support of Library patrons and friends.
Video premiered August 19, 2022.
Read Banned Books: Toni Morrison Tribute
Few books have inspired, moved, and changed readers more than Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Few books have also been more challenged by those who would seek to censor and ban works of art. To honor its creator—a Library Lion and Lifetime Trustee—an all-star lineup of writers, actors, and thinkers returned to Morrison’s indelible work with readings, performances, and conversations.
Produced in partnership with LIVE from NYPL and Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. To learn more, please visit the event page.
Video premiered September 22, 2022.
Oral Histories
- American Jewish Committee Oral History CollectionThe American Jewish Committee Oral History Collection was gifted to the Jewish Division of The New York Public Library, with over 156,000 pages of transcripts, 6,000 hours of taped interviews, and 2,250 informants which form this repository of unique and unpublished primary source material for the study of what is often called “the American Jewish experience in the 20th century.”
- Community Oral History ProjectThis project celebrates New York City's unique neighborhoods and diverse people. It preserves and documents history by collecting the stories of those who have experienced it.
- History Now: The Pandemic DiariesThe Library is committed to preserving and making accessible the stories that shape our history so that people today, along with future generations, can better understand our world and each other. The audio diaries we collect will document the experiences of people from all walks of life, in their own words.
External Resources
- Humans of New YorkHumans of New York is a photoblog and book of street portraits and interviews collected on the streets of New York City. Started in November 2010 by photographer Brandon Stanton, Humans of New York has developed a large following through social media.
- Our Streets, Our Stories (OSOS)Our Streets Our Stories (OSOS) is an ongoing oral history project housed in the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) Services for Older Adults within the Department of Outreach Services. The Library seek to explore the Brooklyn that is and the Brooklyn that was, from the words of the community that lives here.
- Queens MemoryQueens Memory is an ongoing community archiving program supported by Queens Public Library and Queens College, CUNY. Queens Memory collaborates with community members to collect personal histories, photographs, and other records of contemporary life in Queens, New York.
- Story CorpsStoryCorps’ mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.