WHEN THINGS GO RIGHT
Written and Told by Sue O’Halloran
 
Sue tells three stories of courage and inspiration for today… An entire town rises up to protect a man’s freedom, a Vietnamese American tells of finding home after a harrowing escape, and Chicago neighbors protect their Muslim neighbors.

The Oberlin Rescue of 1858 (excerpt) – 15:30
Escape from Vietnam – 9:40
The Other 9/11 Story – 13:00

The Oberlin Rescue of 1858
John Price escaped from the Kentucky plantation where he had been enslaved. He planned to go to Canada but when he arrived in Oberlin, Ohio, and saw shopkeepers and college students who were Black, he decided to stay. However, he didn’t know that a slave catcher was coming for him. Over 700 people risked imprisonment and bankruptcy to thwart the re-capture of John Price. Defying the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, the town of Oberlin, Ohio came together to
protect one man’s freedom.

Escape from Vietnam: An American Immigration Story
The true story of a Vietnamese teenager who makes it to America after a harrowing boat journey and Thai refugee camp. At a commemorative storytelling event honoring Vietnamese Americans, Sue witnesses the transformative power of story as this young man shares his story. Storytelling creates a community of listeners that make a new country feel like home.
 
The Other 9/11 Story
After the September 11, 2001, attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center,
demonstrations against Muslims took place in different parts of Chicago. One group of
Chicagoans on the southwest side of the city decided to support their Muslim neighbors. This support grew into a massive rally and teach-in at Chicago’s Navy Pier. Sue witnessed people willing to learn from and about each other and how taking a stand could make a positive change.