Our first statewide humanities conference is happening this summer.
Together, we will explore the humanities’ potential to promote inclusion, dialogue, and social justice through storytelling.
This summer, Maryland Humanities will bring together a diverse group of cultural workers— community members, museum professionals, service providers, public historians, educators, interpreters, students and others involved in humanities efforts and community engagement—to highlight the various programs and best practices related to storytelling taking place in the state and wider region. This includes how we document, share and collect stories broadly, from exhibition development, podcasts and media creation to oral history projects and film.
We are particularly interested in highlighting innovative ways that storytelling is being used to engage communities and promote dialogue. Storytelling is being interpreted in a very inclusive manner, from how we construct narratives, their role in the formation of community identity, how we create memory, interpreting complicated/divisive stories, how stories can be used in reconciliation and healing, etc. Formats will include roundtable discussions, program presentations, and facilitated conversations.
Schedule
9:00 – 10:00 a.m. | Breakfast & Registration
10:15 – 11:00 a.m. | Interactive Activities
Interactive activities will include guided meditation, facilitated discussion, and artmaking.
Further details are forthcoming.
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. | Breakout Sessions: Panels & Workshops
Panel 1: Telling Community Stories
This panel will provide an opportunity for cultural workers from different Maryland communities to present how they are documenting and sharing local stories in a variety of ways.
Panel 2: Reparative Stories
This panel will focus on how different organizations are dealing with Maryland’s difficult past and working toward healing and reconciliation.
Panel 3: Storytelling with Media
With new media platforms available to share stories, new audiences are being engaged through creative platforms. This panel with discuss several of these methodologies.
12:30 – 1:15 p.m. | Lunch
1:30 – 2:15 p.m. | Plenary Session: Keynote Speaker, Senator Cory McCray
Cory McCray is a Maryland State Senator representing the 45th Legislative District in Baltimore City, where he is committed to expanding opportunity, strengthening communities, and delivering real results for working families.
A proud son of Baltimore, Senator McCray began his career as an electrical apprentice and now stands as a journeyman electrician—bringing a working-class perspective to public service that is rare in legislative spaces. He is the only member of the Maryland General Assembly to have completed a registered apprenticeship, and his lived experience continues to shape his work in workforce development, education, and economic mobility.
In the Senate, he serves on the Budget and Taxation Committee and chairs the Health and Human Services Subcommittee, where he plays a key role in shaping the State’s budget and advancing policies that impact some of Maryland’s most vulnerable communities.
McCray is also the author of The Apprenticeship That Saved My Life, a guidebook and call to action that highlights apprenticeship as a powerful pathway to success. Through his work in the legislature and in the community, he continues to advocate for systems that provide real access, real exposure, and real opportunity—especially for young people who are too often overlooked.
He is a devoted husband to his wife, Demetria, and a proud father to his four children—Kennedy, Reagan, CJ, and Bryson—who continue to inspire his work and commitment to building a better future for the next generation.
2:30 – 3:30 p.m. | Breakout Sessions: Panels & Workshops
Panel 4: Telling Stories with Primary Sources
Panel 5: Sharing Stories with the Written Word
This panel will convene multiple local and independent publishers to discuss how a local publishing can not just produce and sell books, but also provide a model for using storytelling and literacy to cultivate and engage your community.
Panel 6: Student Storytellers
Maryland educators and students are involved in documenting and presenting stories about their communities. The panel will showcase a number of projects from high school and college students engaged in these efforts.
3:45 – 4:00 p.m. | Closing
4:30 – 5:30 p.m. | Annual Meeting
The energy doesn’t stop after the conference! Join us for our first ever Annual Meeting on July 9th, and help make it something worth showing up for.
We’re asking our community to weigh in on the themes and topics that matter most, so this meeting reflects you. Share your input in this survey, and help us build something meaningful.