ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sisonke Msimang - Writer, activist
Sisonke Msimang untangles the threads of race, class and gender that run through the fabric of African and global culture.

Why you should listen

Sisonke Msimang tells stories about justice and human rights. In the early part of her career, Msimang set up a fund fight for people whose health had been compromised by their race, class and gender identities. In 2008 she became the executive director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, responsible for making grants on human rights projects. Msimang is now the head of programs at the Centre for Stories, a new initiative that collects, preserves and shares stories about migrants, refugees and diverse people and places linked to the Indian Ocean Rim.

Msimang has been awarded a number of fellowships including from Yale University, the University of the Witwatersrand and the Aspen Institute. She also contributes regularly to the New York Times, Newsweek, the Guardian and a range of other outlets. You can watch her Moth talk on the power of listening here.

More profile about the speaker
Sisonke Msimang | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2016

Sisonke Msimang: If a story moves you, act on it

Sisonke Msimang: Se unha historia te emociona, actúa

Filmed:
1,365,356 views

As historias son necesarias, pero non son tan máxicas como parecen, segundo a escritora Sisonke Msimang. Nunha charla divertida e que nos fai pensar, Msimang cuestiona a nosa énfase no contar historias e salienta a decadencia dos feitos reais. Nun tempo crítico en que escoitar se confunde con actuar, Msimang pídenos apagar os nosos teléfonos, separarnos das nosas pantallas e saír ao mundo real para crear un plan a favor da xustiza.
- Writer, activist
Sisonke Msimang untangles the threads of race, class and gender that run through the fabric of African and global culture. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
So earlier this year,
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Ó principio deste ano
00:14
I was informed that I would be
doing a TED Talk.
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dixéronme que ía facer unha charla TED
00:18
So I was excited, then I panicked,
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Emocioneime e despois veu o pánico
00:20
then I was excited, then I panicked,
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volvínme emocionar
e despois o pánico outra vez
00:22
and in between the excitement
and the panicking,
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e entre a emoción e o pánico
00:24
I started to do my research,
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empezou a miña busca,
00:27
and my research primarily consisted
of Googling how to give a great TED Talk.
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que consistiu primeiro en ver en Google
como facer unha boa charla TED
00:31
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
00:32
And interspersed with that,
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E no medio diso,
00:34
I was Googling Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
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busquei en Google
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
00:37
How many of you know who that is?
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Cantos coñecedes quen é?
00:38
(Cheers)
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(Aclamacións)
00:41
So I was Googling her
because I always Google her
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Busqueina porque sempre o fago
porque son unha admiradora
00:44
because I'm just a fan,
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00:45
but also because she always has
important and interesting things to say.
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pero tamén porque sempre ten cousas
importantes e interesantes que dicir.
00:49
And the combination of those searches
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E a combinación desas buscas
00:52
kept leading me to her talk
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levábame constantemente á súa charla
00:55
on the dangers of a single story,
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sobre os perigos dunha única historia,
00:58
on what happens
when we have a solitary lens
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sobre o que pasa
cando temos unha única visión
01:01
through which to understand
certain groups of people,
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a través da cal entendermos
certos grupos de xente,
01:04
and it is the perfect talk.
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e é a charla perfecta.
01:07
It's the talk that I would have given
if I had been famous first.
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É a charla que eu daría
se fose famosa antes.
01:12
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
01:14
You know, and you know,
like, she's African and I'm African,
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E sabedes que ela é africana
e eu son africana,
01:17
and she's a feminist and I'm a feminist,
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que ela é feminista
e eu son feminista.
que ela conta historias
e eu conto historias,
01:19
and she's a storyteller
and I'm a storyteller,
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01:21
so I really felt like it's my talk.
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así que sentín que é a miña charla.
01:23
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
01:26
So I decided that I was going
to learn how to code,
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Decidín, ademais,
que ía aprender a programar,
01:29
and then I was going to hack the internet
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e despois ía hackear internet
01:31
and I would take down all the copies
of that talk that existed,
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e eliminaría todas as copias
existentes desa charla,
01:35
and then I would memorize it,
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memorizaríaa,
01:37
and then I would come here
and deliver it as if it was my own speech.
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e despois viría aquí e diríaa
como se fose o meu discurso.
01:40
So that plan was going really well,
except the coding part,
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O plan ía moi ben
agás polo de aprender a programar
01:43
and then one morning a few months ago,
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e logo, varios meses despois, unha mañá
01:47
I woke up
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levanteime
01:49
to the news that the wife
of a certain presidential candidate
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coas noticias de que a muller
de certo candidato presidencial
01:54
had given a speech that --
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fixo un discurso que
01:57
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
01:59
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
02:04
that sounded eerily like a speech
given by one of my other faves,
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que soou parecido a un
que deu outra das miñas favoritas:
02:09
Michelle Obama.
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Michelle Obama
02:10
(Cheers)
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(Aclamacións)
02:12
And so I decided that I should
probably write my own TED Talk,
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Daquela decidín que debía escribir
a miña propia charla TED
02:17
and so that is what I am here to do.
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e é o que vou facer.
02:19
I'm here to talk about
my own observations about storytelling.
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Estou aquí para falar
das miñas reflexións
sobre contar historias.
02:24
I want to talk to you
about the power of stories, of course,
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Por suposto, quero falar
sobre o poder das historias
02:28
but I also want to talk
about their limitations,
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pero tamén quero falar
sobre as súas limitacións,
02:31
particularly for those of us
who are interested in social justice.
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en particular para os que
estades interesados na xustiza social.
02:36
So since Adichie gave that talk
seven years ago,
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Dende que Adichie deu
aquel discurso hai sete anos
02:39
there has been a boom in storytelling.
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houbo un boom
no de contar historias,
02:41
Stories are everywhere,
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As historias están en todas partes,
02:44
and if there was a danger
in the telling of one tired old tale,
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e se houbese algún perigo
en contar un conto xa vello,
02:48
then I think there has got to be
lots to celebrate about the flourishing
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penso máis ben que hai moito
que celebrar sobre a propagación
02:52
of so many stories and so many voices.
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de tantas historias e voces.
02:55
Stories are the antidote to bias.
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As historias son o antídoto
para os prexuízos,.
02:58
In fact, today, if you are middle class
and connected via the internet,
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De feito se es clase media
e tes conexión a internet
03:04
you can download stories
at the touch of a button
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podes descargar historias cun só click
03:07
or the swipe of a screen.
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ou arrastrando sobre a pantalla.
03:08
You can listen to a podcast
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Podes escoitar un podcast
03:10
about what it's like
to grow up Dalit in Kolkata.
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sobre o que é crecer
coma un dalit en Kolkata.
03:14
You can hear an indigenous
man in Australia
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Podes escoitar un indíxena en Australia
03:16
talk about the trials and triumphs
of raising his children in dignity
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que fala sobre os intentos e triunfos
para criar os seus fillos con dignidade
03:21
and in pride.
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e con orgullo.
03:22
Stories make us fall in love.
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As historias fannos enamorarnos.
03:24
They heal rifts and they bridge divides.
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Curan feridas e únennos coma unha ponte.
03:27
Stories can even make it easier for us
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As historias poden incluso
axudarnos a falar
03:29
to talk about the deaths
of people in our societies
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sobre a morte de persoas
que non importan nas nosas sociedades,
03:32
who don't matter,
because they make us care.
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porque fan que nos interesemos.
03:34
Right?
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Non si?
03:36
I'm not so sure,
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Non estou segura,
03:38
and I actually work for a place
called the Centre for Stories.
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e eu traballo nun sitio chamado
Centre for Stories
03:41
And my job is to help to tell stories
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E o meu traballo é axudar
a contar historias
03:46
that challenge mainstream narratives
about what it means to be black
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que cuestionen o discurso establecido
sobre o que significa ser negro
03:49
or a Muslim or a refugee
or any of those other categories
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ou musulmán ou refuxiado
ou calquera outra categoría
03:52
that we talk about all the time.
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das que falamos deseguido.
03:55
But I come to this work
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Pero acabei neste traballo
03:57
after a long history
as a social justice activist,
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despois dun longo percorrido
como activista social,
04:00
and so I'm really interested in the ways
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polo que estou moi interesada nos xeitos
04:02
that people talk
about nonfiction storytelling
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en que a xente fala sobre
historias non ficticias
04:05
as though it's about
more than entertainment,
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como se fose máis ca un espectáculo,
04:07
as though it's about being
a catalyst for social action.
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como se fose un catalizador
para a acción social.
04:11
It's not uncommon to hear people say
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Non é raro escoitarlle á xente
04:14
that stories make
the world a better place.
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dicir que as historias
fan do mundo un lugar mellor.
Porén, preocúpame cada vez máis
que ata as historias máis conmovedoras,
04:18
Increasingly, though, I worry
that even the most poignant stories,
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04:22
particularly the stories about people
who no one seems to care about,
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particularmente as da xente
que parece non importarlle a ninguén,
04:26
can often get in the way
of action towards social justice.
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poiden ás veces entorpecer
a xustiza social.
04:29
Now, this is not because
storytellers mean any harm.
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Non é porque os contadores
queiran facer dano;
04:33
Quite the contrary.
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máis ben o contrario.
04:34
Storytellers are often do-gooders
like me and, I suspect, yourselves.
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Os contadores teñen tan boa intención
coma min e sospeito que tamén coma vós.
04:39
And the audiences of storytellers
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E o público dos contadores de historias
04:42
are often deeply compassionate
and empathetic people.
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son normalmente xente
con moita compaixón e empatía.
04:46
Still, good intentions
can have unintended consequences,
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Aínda que as boas intencións
poden ter consecuencias non intencionadas
04:51
and so I want to propose that stories
are not as magical as they seem.
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quero dicir que as historias non son
tan máxicas como pode parecer.
04:55
So three -- because
it's always got to be three --
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Teño tres, porque deben ser sempre tres,
04:58
three reasons why I think
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tres razóns polas que creo
05:00
that stories don't necessarily
make the world a better place.
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que as historias non fan necesariamente
do mundo un lugar mellor.
05:06
Firstly, stories can create
an illusion of solidarity.
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En primeiro lugar as historias
poden crear unha ilusión de solidariedade.
05:10
There is nothing
like that feel-good factor you get
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Non hai nada coma
ese bo sentimento que consegues
05:12
from listening to a fantastic story
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ao escoitar unha historia fantástica
05:15
where you feel like you
climbed that mountain, right,
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onde sentes que subiches ao alto
dunha montaña, non si?
05:18
or that you befriended
that death row inmate.
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Ou que te fixeches amigo
dun preso condenado a morte.
05:21
But you didn't.
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Pero non o fixeches.
05:23
You haven't done anything.
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Ti non fixeches nada.
05:25
Listening is an important
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Escoitar é un paso importante
05:26
but insufficient step
towards social action.
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pero insuficiente para á acción social.
05:31
Secondly, I think often we are drawn
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En segundo lugar,
ás veces penso que tiramos
05:34
towards characters and protagonists
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cara a personaxes e protagonistas
05:36
who are likable and human.
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que son agradables e humanos.
05:40
And this makes sense, of course, right?
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E isto ten sentido, non si?
05:42
Because if you like someone,
then you care about them.
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Porque se che gusta alguén
impórtache esta persoa.
05:45
But the inverse is also true.
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Pero o contrario tamén pasa.
05:47
If you don't like someone,
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Se non che gusta alguén
05:49
then you don't care about them.
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entón esa persoa non che importa
05:51
And if you don't care about them,
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e se non che importa
05:53
you don't have to see yourself
as having a moral obligation
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non ves que teñas a obriga moral
05:56
to think about the circumstances
that shaped their lives.
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de pensar nas circunstancias
que marcaron a súa vida.
06:01
I learned this lesson
when I was 14 years old.
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Aprendín esta lección cando tiña 14 anos.
06:04
I learned that actually,
you don't have to like someone
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Aprendín que non che ten que gustar alguén
06:07
to recognize their wisdom,
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para recoñecer a súa sabedoría,
06:08
and you certainly
don't have to like someone
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e que tampouco che ten que gustar alguén
06:10
to take a stand by their side.
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para estar da súa parte.
06:12
So my bike was stolen
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Roubáronme a bici
06:15
while I was riding it --
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mentras estaba montando nela
06:17
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
06:18
which is possible if you're
riding slowly enough, which I was.
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o que pode pasar se montas moi amodo
como facía eu.
06:21
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
06:23
So one minute
I'm cutting across this field
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Nunha ocasión estaba atallando
a través dun campo
06:26
in the Nairobi neighborhood
where I grew up,
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no barrio de Nairobi onde me criei,
06:28
and it's like a very bumpy path,
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e é un camiño con moitas fochancas,
06:31
and so when you're riding a bike,
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así que se vas na bici
06:32
you don't want to be like, you know --
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non queres parecer, xa sabes...
06:35
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
06:38
And so I'm going like this,
slowly pedaling,
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Así que pedaleaba moi lentamente
06:42
and all of a sudden, I'm on the floor.
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e de repente estou no chan.
06:45
I'm on the ground, and I look up,
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Estou no chan e miro para arriba
06:47
and there's this kid peddling away
in the getaway vehicle,
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e vexo a este neno pedaleando
06:50
which is my bike,
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na miña bici
06:51
and he's about 11 or 12 years old,
and I'm on the floor,
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un neno duns 11 ou 12 anos,
e eu no chan
06:55
and I'm crying because I saved
a lot of money for that bike,
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chorando porque aforrara moitos cartos
para aquela bici,
06:58
and I'm crying and I stand up
and I start screaming.
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e mentres choraba erguinme
e comecei a berrar
07:00
Instinct steps in,
and I start screaming, "Mwizi, mwizi!"
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O instinto fíxome berrar "Mwizi, mwizi!"
07:04
which means "thief" in Swahili.
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que significa "ladrón" en suahili.
07:07
And out of the woodworks,
all of these people come out
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De repente todo o mundo
sae das carpinterías
07:12
and they start to give chase.
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e comeza a perseguilo.
07:14
This is Africa, so mob justice in action.
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É África, a xustiza popular en acción.
07:16
Right?
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De acordo?
07:17
And I round the corner,
and they've captured him,
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Viro a esquina,
e capturárono,
07:20
they've caught him.
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cazárono.
07:22
The suspect has been apprehended,
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Detiveron o sospeitoso,
07:24
and they make him give me my bike back,
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e fixéronlle devolverme a bici.
07:27
and they also make him apologize.
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e tamén desculparse.
07:29
Again, you know,
typical African justice, right?
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Como xa dixen,
típica xustiza africana, non sí?
07:33
And so they make him say sorry.
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E fixéronlle pedirme perdón.
07:34
And so we stand there facing each other,
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e estabamos a ollar un para o outro,
07:36
and he looks at me, and he says sorry,
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e el mírame e di perdón,
07:39
but he looks at me
with this unbridled fury.
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pero mírame con carraxe descontrolada.
07:43
He is very, very angry.
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Está moi moi furioso.
07:47
And it is the first time that I have been
confronted with someone
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Esta era a primeira vez
que me enfrontaba con alguén
07:50
who doesn't like me
simply because of what I represent.
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a que non lle gusto
simplemente polo que represento.
07:53
He looks at me
with this look as if to say,
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Él mírame como se fose dicir
07:55
"You, with your shiny skin
and your bike, you're angry at me?"
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"Ti, coa túa pel brillante e a túa bici,
estás enfadada comigo?"
08:01
So it was a hard lesson
that he didn't like me,
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Foi unha dura lección
que eu non lle gustase,
08:04
but you know what, he was right.
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pero sabedes que? El tiña razón.
08:06
I was a middle-class kid
living in a poor country.
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Eu era unha nena de clase media
vivindo nun país pobre.
08:10
I had a bike, and he barely had food.
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Eu tiña unha bici e el apenas tiña comida.
08:13
Sometimes, it's the messages
that we don't want to hear,
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Ás veces as mensaxes
que non queremos escoitar,
08:16
the ones that make us
want to crawl out of ourselves,
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as que fan que queiramos
que nos trague a terra,
08:19
that we need to hear the most.
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son as que máis necesitamos oír.
08:21
For every lovable storyteller
who steals your heart,
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Por cada contador de historias encantador
que che rouba o corazón,
08:25
there are hundreds more
whose voices are slurred and ragged,
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hai centos que ven
as súas voces distorsionadas,
08:29
who don't get to stand up on a stage
dressed in fine clothes like this.
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que non chegan ao escenario
vestidos en lindas roupaxes coma esta.
08:34
There are a million
angry-boy-on-a-bike stories
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Hai millóns de historias
coma a do neno que me roubou a bici
08:38
and we can't afford to ignore them
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e non podemos ignoralas
08:40
simply because we don't like
their protagonists
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só porque non nos gusten os protagonistas
08:43
or because that's not the kid
that we would bring home with us
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ou porque non sexa a clase de neno
que levariamos para a casa
08:46
from the orphanage.
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desde o orfanato.
08:48
The third reason that I think
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A terceira razón pola que penso
08:50
that stories don't necessarily
make the world a better place
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que as historias
non fan do mundo un lugar mellor
08:54
is that too often we are so invested
in the personal narrative
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é que moi a miúdo estamos tan inmersos
na narración persoal
08:57
that we forget
to look at the bigger picture.
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que esquecemos o que hai ao redor.
09:00
And so we applaud someone
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Así que aplaudimos
09:02
when they tell us
about their feelings of shame,
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cando nos contan os seus
sentimentos de vergoña,
09:05
but we don't necessarily
link that to oppression.
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pero non relacionamos iso coa opresión.
09:09
We nod understandingly
when someone says they felt small,
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Asentimos con razón
cando alguén nos di que se sente pequeno
09:12
but we don't link that to discrimination.
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pero non o ligamos coa discriminación.
09:15
The most important stories,
especially for social justice,
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As mellores historias,
especialmente para a xustiza social
09:18
are those that do both,
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1816
son as que fan as dúas cousas:
09:20
that are both personal and allow us
to explore and understand the political.
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son persoais, pero permítennos
explorar e entender o político.
Pero non pasa só coas historias
que nos gustan
09:25
But it's not just
about the stories we like
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09:27
versus the stories we choose to ignore.
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fronte ás que eliximos ignorar.
09:29
Increasingly, we are living in a society
where there are larger forces at play,
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Cada vez máis vivimos nunha sociedade
na que hai maiores forzas en xogo,
09:33
where stories are actually for many people
beginning to replace the news.
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4360
onde para moita xente, as historias
están comezando a substituír as noticias.
09:38
Yeah?
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1216
Non?
09:39
We live in a time where we are witnessing
the decline of facts,
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3376
Vivimos nunca época
na que vemos a decadencia dos feitos,
09:43
when emotions rule
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2216
cando as emocións dominan
09:45
and analysis, it's kind of boring, right?
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e a análise é un pouco aburrida, non si?
09:48
Where we value what we feel
more than what we actually know.
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4200
Onde valoramos o que sentimos
máis que aquilo que sabemos.
09:54
A recent report by the Pew Center
on trends in America
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Unha declaración do Pew Center
sobre modas en America
09:58
indicates that only 10 percent
of young adults under the age of 30
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5776
indica que só o 10% dos adultos
de menos de 30 anos
10:04
"place a lot of trust in the media."
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3376
confía nos medios de comunicación.
10:07
Now, this is significant.
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1800
É un dato significativo.
Significa que os contadores de historias
10:09
It means that storytellers
are gaining trust
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2616
están gañando confianza
ó mesmo tempo
10:12
at precisely the same moment
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1376
10:13
that many in the media
are losing the confidence in the public.
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que os medios
perden a confianza do público.
10:18
This is not a good thing,
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2576
Non é unha boa cousa,
10:20
because while stories are important
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1776
porque as historias son importantes
10:22
and they help us
to have insights in many ways,
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2216
e axúdannos a ter diferentes percepcións,
10:24
we need the media.
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1856
pero aos medios necesitámolos.
Tras moitos anos como activista social
10:26
From my years
as a social justice activist,
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2496
10:29
I know very well that we need
credible facts from media institutions
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6096
sei moi ben que necesitamos
crer nos datos dos medios institucionais
10:35
combined with the powerful voices
of storytellers.
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4016
combinados coas poderosas
voces dos contadores.
10:39
That's what pushes the needle forward
in terms of social justice.
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Iso é o que move cara a adiante
a xustiza social.
10:43
In the final analysis, of course,
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2720
Na análise final
10:48
it is justice
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1816
é a xustiza
10:50
that makes the world a better place,
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1736
a que fai do mundo un lugar mellor
10:52
not stories. Right?
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1960
e non as historias.
10:55
And so if it is justice that we are after,
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3056
E se é xustiza o que buscamos,
10:58
then I think we mustn't focus
on the media or on storytellers.
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3416
penso que non debemos centrarnos
nos medios ou nos contadores.
11:01
We must focus on audiences,
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2696
Temos que centrarnos no público,
11:04
on anyone who has ever turned on a radio
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3096
en calquera que algunha vez
acendese a radio
11:07
or listened to a podcast,
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1816
ou escoitase un podcast,
11:09
and that means all of us.
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e eses somos todos nós.
11:11
So a few concluding thoughts
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Como conclusión, unhas ideas
11:13
on what audiences can do
to make the world a better place.
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3880
sobre o que o público pode facer
para converter o mundo nun lugar mellor.
11:18
So firstly, the world
would be a better place, I think,
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3936
Primeira, o mundo podería ser
un lugar mellor, penso,
11:21
if audiences were more curious
and more skeptical
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3576
se o público fose máis
curioso e máis escéptico
11:25
and asked more questions
about the social context
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2616
e fixese máis preguntas
sobre o contexto social
11:28
that created those stories
that they love so much.
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3080
que provocou esas historias
que tanto lles gustan.
11:32
Secondly, the world
would be a better place
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2256
Segunda, o mundo podería ser
un lugar mellor
11:34
if audiences recognized
that storytelling is intellectual work.
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3680
se o público recoñecese que
as historias son un traballo intelectual.
11:39
And I think it would
be important for audiences
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2936
E penso que sería importante que o público
11:42
to demand more buttons
on their favorite websites,
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5336
pedise mais botóns
nos seus webs favoritos,
11:47
buttons for example that say,
233
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2696
que dixesen, por exemplo:
11:50
"If you liked this story,
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1616
"Se che gustou esta historia,
11:52
click here to support a cause
your storyteller believes in."
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4056
preme aquí para apoiares a causa
na que cre este contador".
11:56
Or "click here to contribute
to your storyteller's next big idea."
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5160
Ou "preme aquí para contribuír
á seguinte gran idea deste contador".
12:02
Often, we are committed to the platforms,
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2576
Ás veces estamos enganchados
ás plataformas
12:05
but not necessarily
to the storytellers themselves.
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2456
pero non necesariamente aos contadores.
12:07
And then lastly, I think that audiences
can make the world a better place
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5096
E por último, creo que o público
pode converter o mundo nun lugar mellor
12:12
by switching off their phones,
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2080
apagando os seus teléfonos,
12:15
by stepping away from their screens
241
723560
2016
separándose das súas pantallas
12:17
and stepping out into the real world
beyond what feels safe.
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4480
e saíndo ao mundo real
fóra da súa zona de confort.
12:22
Alice Walker has said,
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2016
Alice Walker dixo
12:24
"Look closely at the present
you are constructing.
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"Mira con atención o presente
que estás a construír,
12:28
It should look like the future
you are dreaming."
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3160
debería ser coma o futuro
que estás a soñar"
12:32
Storytellers can help us to dream,
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2216
Os contadores de historias
pódennos axudar a soñar
12:34
but it's up to all of us
to have a plan for justice.
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pero depende de todos nós
ter un plan para a xustiza
12:39
Thank you.
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Moitas grazas
12:40
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Élida Tato
Reviewed by Xosé María Moreno

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sisonke Msimang - Writer, activist
Sisonke Msimang untangles the threads of race, class and gender that run through the fabric of African and global culture.

Why you should listen

Sisonke Msimang tells stories about justice and human rights. In the early part of her career, Msimang set up a fund fight for people whose health had been compromised by their race, class and gender identities. In 2008 she became the executive director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, responsible for making grants on human rights projects. Msimang is now the head of programs at the Centre for Stories, a new initiative that collects, preserves and shares stories about migrants, refugees and diverse people and places linked to the Indian Ocean Rim.

Msimang has been awarded a number of fellowships including from Yale University, the University of the Witwatersrand and the Aspen Institute. She also contributes regularly to the New York Times, Newsweek, the Guardian and a range of other outlets. You can watch her Moth talk on the power of listening here.

More profile about the speaker
Sisonke Msimang | Speaker | TED.com
THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM