Every Story Starts With a Problem
Inside the James Weldon Johnson Young Writers Festival
Every story starts the same way.
Someone sees a problem.
That is the first thing Nola D. Oracle taught the students at the James Weldon Johnson Young Writers Festival in Jacksonville, Florida. Get out your writing materials. Brainstorm your story. Ask yourself: who is my main character, and what problem do they face?
Then she told them something they did not see coming.
They were sitting inside someone else's story. And they were the resolution.
A Festival Built Like a Story
More than two decades ago, Matriarch Sharon Coon saw a problem. She wanted more young people engaging in reading, writing, thinking, and education. So she did exactly what writers do. She gathered her thoughts, wrote down everything she wanted to see, and set out to solve it.
The result is the James Weldon Johnson Young Writers Festival, hosted by the Friends of the Brentwood Public Library, which Mrs. Coon founded.
The festival brought students together for a celebration of creativity, culture, and history, inviting young people to discover and express their voices through creative writing, poetry, spoken word, music, visual arts, dance, and historical exploration.
As Nola put it to the students in the room:
"The reason why you're here right now is because Mrs. Coon wanted to solve a problem. She got together with her thoughts, wrote down all the things that she wanted to see, and then she solved the problem. Y'all are the answer to her problem. Y'all became the resolution."
A room full of young writers, learning story structure, while sitting inside the resolution of someone else's story. That is not a coincidence. That is a lesson landing twice.
The Hidden History on Screen
One of the festival's highlights was Nola's screening of a segment from the award-winning documentary series African Diasporans Hidden Kulture, which explores Jacksonville's rich African American history.
The film was a natural fit. It showcases the life, legacy, and contributions of James Weldon Johnson himself: celebrated author, educator, civil rights leader, and Jacksonville native. The festival carries his name. The film carries his story.
There is a particular quiet that falls over a room of middle and high school students when they realize the history on screen happened on streets they ride past every day. That quiet came. And then the questions did.
Students uncovered stories about Jacksonville's African American heritage that many had never heard before, and they said so out loud. The screening sparked purposeful conversations about preserving local history, celebrating culture, and understanding how the past shapes the future.
From Watching to Writing
Then the pens came out.
"Get out your writing materials. Step one, brainstorm your story. Who is my main character?"
Nola did not lecture. She worked the room with questions. When a student had the beginning of an idea, she met it with another question, and then another, until the idea grew legs. What does your character want? What would be better? Each question lowered the stakes a little more. And students who might never volunteer to write began writing.
Then the workshop took its serious turn, built on two questions:
Why is James Weldon Johnson's story still important today?
Why is it important to preserve our culture and history?
The students thought critically, shared their perspectives, and began writing their own stories. Nola's charge to them was direct: start writing, because you may have a story that someone needs to hear.
It may inspire them. It may encourage them. It may uplift them.
By connecting history with creative expression, students discovered that their voices matter and that their stories have the power to move others.
They gained a deeper appreciation for their community while building confidence in their own abilities as writers, artists, and future leaders.
Celebrating Matriarch Sharon Coon
For more than two decades, Mrs. Coon has been blessed to serve as a community advocate, literacy champion, cultural preservationist, and founder of the Friends of the Brentwood Public Library. Through the James Weldon Johnson Young Writers Festival, the annual celebration of Lift Every Voice and Sing, youth literacy initiatives, heritage education programs, and community partnerships, my mission has always been clear:
"To ensure that young people know their history, discover their voice, and understand that they have the power to shape the future."
What You Do With This
Watch African Diasporans Hidden Kulture at diasporawhispers.com/filmlibrary and see the history that captivated these students.
Bring a screening and Writers Workshop to your school, library, or community organization. Email info@diasporawhispers.com.
And if you know a young person with a story in them, tell them what Nola told that room. Start writing. Someone may need to hear it.
Continue to chase change.