Blog
Meet Jahi Mackey
Jahi Mackey graduated from the University of New Orleans with a BA in International Studies and earned an MA in Intercultural Service Leadership and Management from the School of International Training Graduate Institute. He has a wealth of experience from facilitating community education programs to promote multicultural education to developing extracurricular programs spoken word/poetry slam programs to serving as a People to People Ambassador.
N4: What excites you about Narrative 4?
JM: As a Louisiana native and resident, I am so excited to be able to have my home region experience a Narrative 4 Story Exchange. From sprawling metro areas like Atlanta and Dallas to small towns in southwest Louisiana and the Mississippi Delta, I see it as a powerful tool that can engage the cultural richness and demographic diversity of the South.
N4: What’s one book or work of art that changed your life?
JM: I most recently finished a book called Didn’t We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston by Gerrick Kennedy. It takes a deep dive into the life of Whitney Houston, connecting her painful struggles and glorious triumphs to a society plagued by institutionalized racism, sexism, and apathy for those struggling with mental health and addiction, whether they are famous or not.
N4: What the world needs now is_____________.
JM: Honesty. We must be honest about the condition of our physical, cultural, and social environment and what must be done to turn things around.
Related Blog Posts
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Marquette + N4: A Partnership in Transcending Institutional Barriers
Blog • December 17, 2024At Marquette University, two educators are leading the charge in bringing Narrative 4 practices to a groundbreaking program designed to include incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students in philosophy and ethics coursework.
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How Can We? Project is Shaping Maine’s Future Leaders
Blog • December 16, 2024The Can We? Project continues to grow and thrive across Maine, creating meaningful opportunities for students to engage in civil dialogue, foster compassion, and inspire change within their communities. The program works directly with cohorts of students and teachers from partner schools, offering them the tools to navigate political and social differences through dialogue. Each year, as interest and capacity allow, the program expands to include new schools, with the hope that the skills learned will ripple outward.
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Leadership Through Story: How High School in the Community is Transforming with Narrative 4
Blog • December 16, 2024High School in the Community (HSIC), a public school with a longstanding relationship with Narrative 4, continues to make strides in integrating storytelling and compassion into its culture. Under the leadership of Principal Carrie Strand, the school has hosted numerous impactful events, from global exchanges with a school in Ireland to collaborations between students and police officers. For HSIC, the power of storytelling and connection isn’t new, but each year, the school finds new ways to dive deeper into this transformative work.