30th Annual Black Master Storytelling Festival
Signifyin' & Testifyin'

Featured Story Tellers

Art work created by ase Euie Shangoye (Home | EueiTheGreat (wixsite.com)

Daily Line Up

American Sign Language Asl For Physically Disabled People

* ASL for all daily line up activities will be provided by 

Sister Jamillah Hollman and Sister Rosalinda Estrada-Alvarez.

Saturday, April 10, 2021 – 6 PM (CDT):

  • Black National Anthem: Lift Every Voice & Sing – Brothers Ghana M’Baye, Joshua Gillespie & Atiba Kwabena Wilson
  • Sister Beverly Cottman – Libation – Minneapolis, MN
  • Sister Danielle Daniel – Mistress of Ceremony – Minneapolis, MN
  • Sister Gwen Matthews & Brother Robert “Eddie” Robinson – Vocalists – Minneapolis, MN
  • Mama Koku – Master Storyteller – Atlanta, GA
  • LaZya Smith – Youth Storyteller – Minneapolis, MN
  • Brother Oba William King – Master Storyteller – Dallas, TX
  • Brother Len Cabral – Master Storyteller – Cranston, RI
  • Sister Kathy Culmer – Master Storyteller – Houston, TX
  • Sister Gwen Matthews & Brother Robert “Eddie” Robinson – Vocalists – Minneapolis, MN

Saturday, April 17, 2021 – 6 PM (CDT):

  • Black National Anthem: Lift Every Voice & Sing – Brothers Ghana M’Baye, Joshua Gillespie & Atiba Kwabena Wilson
  • Sister Beverly Cottman – Libation – Minneapolis, MN
  • Sister Danielle Daniel – Mistress of Ceremony – Minneapolis, MN
  • Sister Gwen Matthews & Brother Robert “Eddie” Robinson – Vocalists – Minneapolis, MN
  • Brother Atiba Kwabena Wilson – Master Jali – Harlem, NY
  • Brother Chiagoziem Anigbogu – Storyteller – St. Paul, MN
  • Sister Gwen Matthews & Brother Robert “Eddie” Robinson – Vocalist – Minneapolis, MN
  • Sister Toni Simmons – Master Storyteller – Houston, TX
  • Brother Dylan Pritchett – Master Storyteller – Newport News, VA
  • Sister Gwen Matthews & Brother Robert “Eddie” Robinson – Vocalists – Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, April 25, 2021 – 4 PM (CDT):

  • Black National Anthem: Lift Every Voice & Sing – Brothers Ghana M’Baye, Joshua Gillespie & Atiba Kwabena Wilson
  • Sister Beverly Cottman – Libation – Minneapolis, MN
  • Sister Danielle Daniel – Mistress of Ceremony – Minneapolis, MN
  • Sister Gwen Matthews & Brother Robert “Eddie” Robinson – Vocalists – Minneapolis, MN
  • Brother David Hurst – Storyteller – Minneapolis, MN
  • Sister Valerie Tutson – Master Storyteller – Providence, RI
  • Sister Gwen Matthews & Brother Robert “Eddie” Robinson – Vocalists – Minneapolis, MN
  • Brother Joshua Gilespie – Storyteller – Minneapolis, MN
  • Sister Gwen Matthews & Brother Robert “Eddie” Robinson – Vocalists – Minneapolis, MN
  • Sister Nothando Zulu – Master Storyteller – Minneapolis, MN
Clean Water Land And Legacy Amendment Logo

Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB) awards Black Storytellers Alliance a year 2021 Creative Support for
Organizations grant.

Black Storytellers Alliance (BSA)  is pleased to announce that we have received this grant  to support our 12-week class  on the Art of Oral Storytelling from an African/African American Perspective. The class is scheduled to begin in May 2021.

“This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Boards, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.”

Special Thanks to Our Sponsors!

  • Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB)
  • Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC)
  • Breck School
  • Hennepin County Libraries
  • Jeanne Burns & Liz Oppenheimer
  • Edwin Clarke
  • Makeda Zulu-Gillespie
  • Proverbs Fellowship Church
  • National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc. (NABS)
  • Nicole Tabor
  • Carl Smith
  • Aruba Health & Emotional Healing, PA
  • Hazel Tanner
  • Sarah French
  • iDream TV
  • Robert J. Jones Urban Research & Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC)
  • Perpich Center for Arts Education
  • Ames Elks Lodge
  • Division of Race and Equity – City of Minneapolis – City Coordinator’s Office
  • Vusumuzi & Nothando Zulu
  • Minnesota Humanities Society
  • North Point Health & Wellness Center
  • KMOJ Radio
  • KFAI Radio
  • Macalester College