This is the twelfth and final chapter of the series “Hidden in Plain Sight: Media Workers for Social Change.” For the last two years Peter M published profiles and photos of people who have taken career paths outside of the media mainstream, at the service of the community around them.

This profile is of Jose Manuel Martinez, whose creative life has been story telling. As a recording artist he has worked in Rock, Latin Rock and Salsa. Now having just completed a Master’s degree in Education at Stanford University, he is an English teacher, relating to young people how stories can empower, and the ways they can bring people together.

Martinez said: “I started writing at a very, very young age. As a matter of fact, I was writing short stories for third and fourth graders when I was in the sixth grade. My principal at P.S. 115 in New York City had me on contract—my mom always brings this up—to produce a few stories a month, and he was really proud, you know. I’ve always had that type of imagination.”

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See Blurbs for All 12 Stories in "Hidden in Plain Sight"