Meet Anna—Story Connoisseur, Neighbor, Activist (Story 40/40)

“To me, the story of City Heights is like the ancient story of Shahrazaad.”

This is Anna Daniels, a longtime City Heights resident, reflecting on her years living in City Heights. “As the story goes, the Prince of Persia is ruthless and requires a virgin to be brought to him every night—then he executes them the next day. So Shahrazad asks her father to let her go to the prince, and he finally relents and she goes.

When she meets the prince, she tells him a story so masterful he’s on the edge of his seat—but then refuses to finish it. So the prince doesn’t kill her, he asks her to come back tomorrow to finish the story. She agrees. She returns again and again, telling her story and somehow she continues to live for 1,001 nights telling the story that never ends. Her story saved her life and the lives of other women as she captivated the prince…”

Here Anna paused, adjusting her shawl and letting the story hang.

“To me, the story of Shahrazaad is the story of City Heights. Out here in this community, there are thousands of stories being lived and told that require both the listener and the storyteller to understand—they require presence.”

Anna went on to explain the community’s dynamics, with people coming and going and being resettled or displaced: “Things are pretty much always changing here…but the constant is these incredible stories that make up our community, our identity, and our well-being. Stories aren’t just entertainment, they’re vital to life—stories are oxygen. They shape who we become and how our community and culture are formed.”

This is why we’ve spent the past year celebrating our 40th anniversary through 40 stories. In fact, the project began way back with this first interview of Anna Daniels (sorry it took us so long to share your incredible words, Anna!).

As she put it: stories are oxygen. Stories are life!

To all you incredible City Heights friends and neighbors who’ve shared your stories over the years: thank you! And thank you to Anna Daniels for sharing these wise words. As a critical part of our organization’s life and history, Anna’s reminder of the power and importance of community stories is one reason we chose to share these 40 stories in honor of our 40th anniversary.

Thanks to all who shared, and click below to read all 40.