Be the author of your own story.
Our Mission
Everyone should be the author of their own story. Storytelling isn’t just something that happens in movies or books, but we all have our own story to tell. Story Shifters started as an opportunity to expose children of African descent to the many stories of people who look like them from all over the world.
Through reading clubs and youth programming, Stories Shifters aims to build not only children's literacy skills and historical knowledge but also their confidence to develop their own stories to share with their communities and broader. When people are given access to more than one perspective of history and societal standards, they have more agency to decide what they will believe about themselves and their community. Story Shifters uses a collection of culturally relevant children's literature to expand children's understanding of their capacity and value and that of others in their community.
Meet The Founder
Adelia Davis is a Detroit native who graduated from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor where she studied biopsychology, cognition, and neuroscience. She received the Wallenberg Fellowship that allowed her to carry out a global self-directed service project.
She chose to spend a year in Cape Town, South Africa observing the similarities of black representation in children’s literature in comparison to the United States. She ran after-school reading programs to promote a positive self-image in black youth in Cape Town and has since returned to Detroit and begun similar youth programming through Story Shifters LLC and with other community organizations.
Thank you to those who have supported the youth programming through book donations, venue usage, time, and monetarily.
Wallenberg Fellowship
Snowday
Otto Foundation
Sunflower Learning Centre
Zonnebloem Girls’ Primary School Staff and Students
Mina Cup
Thope Foundation
Guga S’Thebe Arts & Cultural Centre
Nali’bali
Warren E. Bow Elementary School
Northwest Activities Center
Friends and Family in Cape Town & Detroit
Mentors and Support System at the University of Michigan