LAKE PLACID — The Freedom Story Project, an endeavor of John Brown Lives! and OurStoryBridge Inc., recently achieved the milestone of collecting 100 stories from storytellers across the nation.

Launched in 2022, Freedom Story Project collects and broadcasts 3- to 5-minute audio stories and related photographs online, centering around themes of freedom and justice, human and civil rights, activism and engagement, at local, national and international levels.

Initially funded from an AARP Community Challenge grant, Freedom Story Project has collected 100 personal narratives (64% collected from storytellers 50 and older) regarding social justice, activism, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); created a pop-up physical space for storytelling at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site in Lake Placid; launched an online platform at www.freedomstoryproject.org; collected 20 stories during the first and second annual Adirondack Family Book Festivals and 14 during recent John Brown Days; and published four Freedom Story Project podcast episodes threading together common themes of narratives.

Freedom Story Project features the voices and experiences of national and locally known figures, such as musician Tom Morello, Indigenous author Joseph Bruchac, criminal justice activist Dr. Alice P. Green and the late author Russell Banks, who helped found John Brown Lives.