The Dear Rosa Project celebrates the journey of a story from silence, to safety, to self-expression. Through oral history, community storytelling, and archival work we seek to be a wrecking ball to systemic silence.
Our story begins with our dear and deeply missed Rosa, who kept a journal by writing letters to herself. Project Director Dr. Harte inherited these letters after Rosa’s passing and recognized questions she’d been asking herself. She brought these to one woman’s living room, and they had what became the first Dear Rosa interview. The next day, 8 women called and asked to participate. To date, as of August 2025, 398 interviews have been completed and counting.
We didn’t silence ourselves
The Dear Rosa Project began by creating safe spaces for women living with HIV/AIDS who have experienced domestic violence to tell their story. We remain dedicated to this community who continues to inspire us daily. Gradually, we have expanded our work in recognition of the many, many communities who have been oppressed by silence. To date, our programs include:
Our Programs
The Dear Rosa Project celebrates the stories of people who identify as femme.
The Dear KeKe Project amplifies the voices of Black and Brown queer men
Querido Nosotros is dedicated to preserving the legacy stories of LatinX communities.
Our Methodology
There is nothing you have to share; there is nothing you cannot share.
After learning nearly 400 community members’ stories, we have come to believe that for anyone who has experienced a trauma, their story must go through a journey from silence, to safety, before we can reach self-expression. Our program relies on this belief to structure trauma-informed oral history sessions and community storytelling experiences.
We are empowered by the storytellers who share their worlds with us and are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of your journey.
We use the same questions Rosa asked herself in her letters to community members who wish to participate in an interview. These are “open-ended” spaces which means: this is your space to tell your story in the way that you want to. These questions often encourage people to reflect on significant moments in their journey. But you define what it is that is significant to you. There’s no required information you need to share.
We love when a question brings an unexpected memory. We respect when some stories are difficult to tell and need pauses. We encourage snack breaks + having a tea nearby while you tell your story. And, while we will give you opportunities to share your story with others, there is NO REQUIREMENT to share anything at all. The oral history can remain a private, sacred space. You will be given a copy of your transcript and a video recording of your interview if you want either/both of those.
Many find this to be a very helpful step to reflect on all of the many beautiful twists and turns they’ve taken in the journey to become themselves. Some share stories with us they have not been able to share elsewhere. And others are quieter during their storytelling time, using it more as a space for reflection.
Oral History
Our Role: As trained oral historians and people with various lived experiences, we are honored to bear witness to your story. We are not mental health professionals and as a rule, don’t seek to offer advice during these sessions. We are humans who have had some life and professional training in storytelling. We listen, we reflect back the wisdom you share, we invite you to become part of our community.
Jersey
Anthony
Juanita
B
Each year, The Dear Rosa Project facilitates the Rosa Logues. Work on this monologue festival begins 8 weeks before show day, when we bring in an exceptional pool of Actors to work with our community to source material for a monologue from their oral history transcript. The monologues are developed in small (up to 10 people) cohorts and then performed on stage.
Check out our performers here:
Community Storytelling
This year’s Rosa Logues was done in collaboration with NJ FIREWORX and Saint Elizabeth University.
Our Archives are a dynamic, vibrant, growing, and very active space! We feature excerpts from oral histories WITH PERMISSION of our storytellers–who sometimes also ask us to share their artwork and photos. We use a free platform (Substack) and encourage comments and sharing. The stories shared in these archives then form the basis of a monthly virtual group where all storytellers are welcome to come participate.
If, for example, Anthony was this month’s featured speaker, we’d look at his story during group and write in response to his questions. All responses can then be directly shared with him via his story page.
The Archives
Telling your story freely requires a degree of safety–whether that is in your body, your living space, or your heart. We encourage anyone who is currently experiencing crisis to find resources to help reach these kinds of safety BEFORE participating in a storytelling initiative, including ours. We’ve been where you are and will be waiting for you when you are ready to share. In the meantime, please see the stories in our Archives which showcase extraordinary moments of resiliency.
A Note on Participation