Minneapolis, MN – The three-day Black Master Storytellers Festival returned to Minneapolis with its Grand Finale event in the downtown Minneapolis library. The Black Storytellers Alliance has brought 28 years of Black storytelling to communities across the United States. The theme of this year is “Strength of Our Youth, Wisdom of Our Elders“.

Watch the live stream of the Grand Finale on September 28, 2019.

Created and organized by esteemed elders Nothando and Vusumuzi Zulu, the festival specializes on African and African American stories and folktales.

“We’ve just got to get those stories told, we’ve got to get children to see themselves as being people who have power, ability, and capability.” – Vusumuzi Zulu, “Signifyin’ & Testifyin’” Festival Director

Voice of Culture Drum and Dance will open the Grand Finale with a performance. The event is free and open to the public.

This year’s storytellers include:

• Janice Curtis Greene – Baltimore, Maryland
• Dylan Pritchett – Richmond, Virginia
• Mama Koku – Atlanta, Georgia
• Atiba Kwabena Wilson – Harlem, New York
• Oceana James – Harlem, New York
• Toni Simmons – Fort Worth, Texas
• Oba William King – Dallas, Texas
• Auntie Beverly – Minneapolis, Minnesota

See our past coverage of the Black Storytellers Festival, including interviews with storytellers and the festival director below.

Sharing Black History One Story at a Time: Festival Reaches 27 Years [September 2018]

Black Storytellers Alliance Celebrates its 25th Annual Black Master Storytelling Festival [September 2016]

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