Research shows that facts alone rarely shift people’s beliefs—but personal stories, shared with compassion and deep listening, can. In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore how storytelling can be a powerful tool for activism, particularly through deep canvassing and other forms of political engagement.
Drawing from oral history techniques from The Outwords Archive and real world organizing strategies from the LA LGBT Center, we’ll practice both sharing our own stories and listening to others with openness and curiosity. Inspired by the success of deep canvassing in LGBTQ+ rights movements, we’ll discuss how to engage in conversations that create real change.
Participants will leave with practical skills for using personal storytelling to connect across differences, challenge harmful narratives, and build a more just world.
Participant Bios:
Maria Do (any pronouns) is a queer daughter of working-class, Vietnamese refugees. Their parents’ story of displacement and migration shaped them into becoming a historian-activist. They received their B.A. in American Studies and History at the University of Notre Dame and MPhil in World History at the University of Cambridge. They taught history at Orange Coast College and has guest lectured at Scripps College on postcolonial, feminist, and queer histories of Southeast Asia and its diaspora.
As a Community Mobilization Manager at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, Maria hopes to blend their former work in academia with activism. They produce training and mobilize LGBT and allied volunteers to deep canvass. Along with their team at the Center, Maria is committed to this method of turning out the vote which includes knocking on doors, sharing and eliciting stories about LGBT experiences, and discussing why voting matters. Maria believes this work helps volunteers and voters feel empowered to participate in our country’s democratic process and forges stronger bonds between the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the communities we Canvass.
Jack MacCarthy (he/they) is the Communications Director of The Outwords Archive (OUTWORDS), which records, preserves, and shares the stories of LGBTQ+ elders all over the U.S. He’s also a writer, intimacy coordinator, performer, birth mother, enby, and former life coach. His plays have been performed in ten states and three countries, called “a lot of fun” by The New York Times, and “f*cking brilliant” by Kate Bornstein. Their debut novel, Squad (FSG), had “wonderfully surprising depth” (Booklist), “certainly won me over” (NPR), and was a Barnes & Noble “Most Anticipated LGBTQAP YA Book” and Washington Blade Book List Pick. Winner, Trans GNC Screenwriters Award; semi-finalist, Warner Bros. Television Pilot Award. As an actor, Jack is a Sundance alum, and critics have called him “sassy,” “really funny,” and “gifted with the power to connect with people.” Founder, Caps Lock Theatre; Executive Producer, The Golden Queers podcast. jackmaccarthy.com
This performance is organized by The Outwords Archive and is co-presented with the Los Angeles LGBT Center as part of Circa: Queer Histories Festival 2025, presented by One Institute.
OUTWORDS captures, preserves, and shares the stories of LGBTQIA2S+ elders, to build community and catalyze social change.
The Los Angeles LGBT Center is a safe and welcoming place where the LGBTQ+ community finds help, hope, and support when it is needed the most.