Not Another One‪!‬

NOT ANOTHER ONE! A PLAY FOR PEACE is a collection of stories generated to address gun violence and negative police-youth interactions by BIPOC artists and 16-24 year old youth in Saint Louis, Missouri.



Saint Louis Story Stitchers artists hope that schools, community centers, juvenile detention centers, police training centers, the fields of social work and African American studies, social studies high school and university faculty and students, and change-makers will utilize the body of work in Not Another One! to generate thought and discussion in your own communities. This leads to better understanding of the themes in the project including violence, racial bias, police-youth interaction, and how youth can use the arts and nonviolent collective action to organize and work towards change.



The book contains the full transcript of the youth-led discussion that took place during protests that erupted after the August 9, 2014, killing by police officer Darren Wilson of unarmed Black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Youth leading the discussion created an honest and frank conversation with the police, emergency room physicians, social workers and government officials about their concerns, rights, and police – youth interaction. A guide for youth who want to create their own youth-led discussion is included in the book.



The book also contains both the full-length script and the school assembly script, both of which are based on the Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective’s 2015 youth-led discussion with civic leaders and police on gun violence and police/teen interaction entitled, NOT ANOTHER ONE! A Discussion. The book provides content for educators or arts organizations who wish to stage the play at their own facility.



NOT ANOTHER ONE! is a multi-year signature project addressing gun violence through original music, youth-led discussions with adult leaders and police, related documentary videos, music, a book, and two scripts. Content has been collected and edited from 2015 to 2021 by over 100 artists and youth. Music, curriculum, and coordinating items needed to stage the play are also available at storystitchers.org.



About the Author



Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective is a nationally recognized artists collective known for high quality art and innovative youth violence prevention programs.



Mission: To document Saint Louis through art and word to promote understanding, civic pride, intergenerational relationships and literacy.



Goal: To promote a better educated, more peaceful and caring region through storytelling.



History: Once upon a time there was a stitcher who liked to embroider stories from the newspaper. One day she was stitching about two sisters who were shot on their porch in University City. One sister died. Two brothers were arrested for the crime. The stitcher reflected on the power of stitching throughout history, of the Aids quilt and quilts on the Underground Railroad. She determined to join with others to create change. In August 2013 eight artists gathered in Old North St. Louis and founded the Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective — to make change. Today the organization is a 501(c)(3) registered in the State of Missouri. Susan Colangelo, a social justice artist, has served as founding president and executive director from 2013-present (2021).



The Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective is artists and minority youth ages 16-24, working together to create social change with a focus on gun violence prevention. Stitchers collect stories, reframe and retell them through art, writing and performance to promote understanding, civic pride, intergenerational relationships and literacy. Projects create a platform for community engagement through an artistic lens and with it the Saint Louis Story Stitchers work to shift perceptions and realities and bring hope to the Saint Louis community.



Saint Louis Story Stitchers current focus is aimed