This Is Actually Happening 402: What if a deadly tornado helped to heal old wounds?
Apr 14, 2026
Nanda Nunnelly, a Joplin community leader who survived the 2011 tornado and later ran the Minnie Hackney Community Service Center. She recounts surviving the storm, confronting past cruelty, seeking and receiving an apology, and returning to rebuild community services. The conversation touches on trauma, reconciliation, community art, and practical harm-reduction work.
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Growing Up As The Child Of An Interracial Couple
- Nanda describes growing up as the child of an interracial couple in midwestern USA, including her mother's forced psychiatric commitment and the family's flight after a cross was burned.
- She was born in Los Angeles in 1967 after her mother fled Missouri to avoid losing the pregnancy and later returned to raise Nanda amid ongoing racism and instability.
A Brutal Racist Attack At A Track Meet
- Nanda recounts blatant racism and a violent assault at a track meet in Martinsville where older boys beat and humiliated her.
- The attack included being slammed against a tree, orange peels forced into her mouth, and chewing tobacco, shaping her teenage anger.
Bullying A Classmate Out Of Hurt And Power
- Nanda describes escalating bullying she led against a classmate, Christy Davis, in middle school driven partly by her own hurt and desire for control.
- She later reflects that making Christy uncomfortable may have been a way to reclaim power taken by racist attacks.