Maya McFadden Photo
Ribbon cut for TNP's three-year anniversary.
The Narrative Project (TNP) celebrated its three-year milestone of being “storytellers for good” who intentionally follow a model based on a grandmother’s living room.
Dozens of guests convened in “The Commons” area of TNP’s third-floor office at 142 Temple St. Monday evening to celebrate the organization’s third anniversary as social justice and equity-focused public relations and marketing agency.
Founder and President Mercy Quaye (pictured above) discussed the organization’s shift from starting as a conversation platform in 2015 for the community and organizations to discuss intersections of identity like race, feminism, youth, and Black narratives.
Quaye recalled discovering her “calling” to shift to an anti-racist and social justice public relations agency because it’s “not just about talking — it’s about doing,” as she learned from the conversations.
Over the past three years TNP has focused its work on integrating anti-racist, mindful, and introspective goals into local partners’ missions.
TNP has grown from starting with four partner organizations to currently working with more than 30 organizations. It has expanded from two to 15 employees.
It has also established an alumni network for employees and partners and a ten-year plan that aims to expand its work to Washington D.C, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Saxophonist Stephen "Gritz" King.
A crowd of 50 guests celebrated Monday night with a photo booth, catered dinner from Sandra’s Next Generation, jazz by Stephen “Gritz” King, complementary head shots, a bar, and a guest book.
Guests provided responses to prompts like “What is your anti-racist superpower?” and “What words of encouragement do you have for “TNP?” for the guest book.
State Sen. Gary Winfield joined the celebration as a supporter of TNP since its start in 2015.
“What they provide is the story, the texture, the understanding of the impact,” he said of TNP.
Funeral home director and Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Board Chair Howard K. Hill thanked Quaye and her team for being intentional in their work.
He recalled trusting TNP when he “broke through a glass ceiling” as the first black chair of the chamber.
Staffer Joe Rodriguez presented TNP with a citation from U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal for a certification of special recognition.
Mercy Quaye and Joe Rodriguez.
Erik Clemons, CEO of ConnCORP, said TNP gave power to his organization’s voice and thanked TNP for work that “facilitate[s] the dreams of the people who have no voice.”
American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut (ACLU) Campaign Manager Gus Marks-Hamilton and senior policy organizer Anderson Curtis also joined the event as TNP partners. They thanked TNP for centering the voices of those most harmed by unjust systems to dismantle them and using people’s experiences as assets.
Curtis said TNP prioritizes “people power” and giving partners like ACLU the “right to disclose your story when you’re ready to.”
“I get to live my values. I get to share my experience and my humanity with people, and to me that’s like being in the NBA. That’s getting paid to be who I am,” Curtis said.
