Many Fort Worth residents have had life-shaping experiences that aren’t often shared with the public. A national nonprofit wants to make sure their stories are preserved for future generations.
StoryCorps set up its mobile studio at Keith House, inviting Fort Worth to record and preserve intimate conversations. The nonprofit moves its refurbished Airstream trailer across the United States in partnership with public media stations.
“If you have breath in your body, you have a story to tell,” associate tour director Latojia Dawkins said.
StoryCorps collaborated with KERA to bring the mobile studio to Fort Worth for the first time. All recording slots are booked for the trailer, which is in the city through Dec. 19, but a waitlist is available.
With the help of a trained facilitator, two people record a conversation with one another about their past, what they have learned and how they hope to be remembered. Pairings are typically family members or friends so that participants don’t feel like they’re being interviewed, Dawkins said.
Participants can either save the audio for themselves or agree to submit a copy to the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. More than 444,000 stories have been recorded since StoryCorps launched in 2003.
StoryCorps interviews are open to all ages because anyone can “bring forth a lot of wisdom,” Dawkins said. One of the youngest participants was a 3 year old from Atlanta, she noted.
Interested in recording a StoryCorps conversation?
All Fort Worth slots are booked, but you can join the waitlist. Participants are given roughly 40 minutes to record their stories.
People can also record their own conversations through the StoryCorps app.
Preserving knowledge is key for Opal Lee, who became the first Fort Worth resident to step foot inside the mobile studio on Dec. 3.
The Grandmother of Juneteenth sat down with her granddaughter Dione Sims and National Juneteenth Museum CEO Jarred Howard to discuss the holiday’s history and efforts to grow its prevalence through a new arts center in the Historic Southside.
Lee, who celebrated her 99th birthday in early October, said it’s important for her to give young people a glimpse into her past and how she viewed the world in the later years of her life.
Opal Lee, left, Dione Sims and Jarred Howard prepare to record their conversation about Juneteenth inside the StoryCorps mobile studio on Dec. 3, 2025. (David Moreno | Fort Worth Report)
Sims viewed the StoryCorps interview as a way for Black community members to tell their own stories, similar to how enslaved people recounted their experiences in narratives archived in the National Library of Congress.
“Generations from now, we’ll hear our stories because of this project,” Sims said. “It’s really neat to be a part of this legacy.”
Dawkins echoed Sims’ sentiment, adding that those Fort Worth residents who choose to participate might just brighten somebody’s day with their stories.
“In today’s society, we often feel divided, but these conversations are showing us that we’re more alike than different,” Dawkins said.
StoryCorps is finalizing its mobile tour stops for 2026.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
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