Growing Griots: Modern-day storytelling shapes young people鈥檚 identities
| BALTIMORE
One by one, children pop into the Zoom room, tuning in from desks, couches, and bedroom floors across three states. It鈥檚 Saturday morning, and these fourth-through-eighth graders are welcomed with wide-open arms.听
鈥淲ho鈥檚 that beautiful girl in the corner?鈥� asks one of the group鈥檚 elders, prompting a shy grin from the girl in the flowered shirt. 鈥淚 used to wear my hair just like that in plaits!鈥澨�
The mentors running the show are elders from the Griots鈥� Circle of Maryland, an affiliate of the National Association of Black Storytellers. Rooted in the African oral tradition, these storytellers command a powerful presence, even on Zoom.听
Why We Wrote This
Disagreement over historical narrative shows how important it is to our identity 鈥� as individuals and as a nation. A program in Baltimore explores Black history through storytelling, giving young people a fuller view of their heritage and themselves.
Once all the video cameras have been coaxed on, 鈥渋nstructor-mentor鈥� Deborah Pierce-Fakunle leads everyone in a chant:听
Remember, rekindle, reclaim, and restore. It鈥檚 what we do and we do a lot more.听
Remember the things our fathers could not do, like learning to read, and voting, too.听
The light of knowledge, rekindle for yourself, and build a mountain of educational wealth.听
Reclaim the traditions of warriors and kings, the courage, honesty, and respect it brings.听
Restore the achievements of our ancestors. It鈥檚 what we do and we do a lot more.
Heads nod along in support.
Griots takes shape
Baltimore鈥檚 Growing Griots Literacy Learning Program began in 2007. The organizing griots (pronounced 鈥済ree-ohs鈥� and named after the traditional West African oral history tellers) had lived through the hopes 鈥� and disappointments 鈥� of the civil rights movement. And they were becoming increasingly frustrated with the education Black students were receiving in the United States.
鈥淥ur kids were in a learning environment where many of them were leaving school functionally illiterate,鈥� says co-director S. Bunjo Butler. Worse, he says, schools weren鈥檛 giving Black children an accurate or complete picture of themselves, their history, or their potential.听
Recent statistics indicate schools have yet to bridge educational divides. A 2019 assessment of America鈥檚 public schools shows only 15% of Black eighth graders scored 鈥減roficient鈥� or higher in reading, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The same was true for 42% of white eighth graders.听
The Growing Griots program aims to fill in the gaps. By immersing children in the art of storytelling and offering robust conversations about Black history, it offers students a deeper understanding of themselves while building skills they need to succeed.听
鈥淭hey鈥檙e strengthening their Blackness,鈥� says David Fakunle, who teaches storytelling at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. He鈥檚 also Ms. Pierce-Fakunle鈥檚 son, and grew up as a Growing Griot in Baltimore. 鈥淸Growing Griots] acknowledges their voice and strengthens it. It acknowledges their intelligence and strengthens it. It acknowledges their creativity and strengthens it.鈥�
As the program helps young people appreciate their roots, it creates an intergenerational听dialogue of mutual respect.听
鈥淔or the older adults, they know that they鈥檙e sharing and passing on a very rich oral tradition and art form as well as their stories,鈥� says Donna Butts, executive director of the nonprofit Generations United, which supports intergenerational collaboration. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a reciprocal relationship that engages and values the strengths of each generation.鈥�
Lessons from Anansi听
One of the stories Mr. Butler tells is how he was drafted into the Army in the 1960s. He explains what it felt like to be asked to kill, or to be killed, for his country at a time when he couldn鈥檛 drink out of a 鈥渨hites-only鈥� water fountain at home.听
鈥淲e teach them that their mothers, fathers, grandparents, they are the heroes and sheroes, not just Harriet Tubman or Martin Luther King,鈥� he says.听
Janice Curtis Greene likes to use the听example of Anansi the spider. The cunning West African folklore character is often depicted as either a tiny creature or a weak, old man, she says. So when she tells the story of Anansi 鈥� as she does at another Growing Griots event, this one in person 鈥� she makes sure they understand the power he represents.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the most vulnerable, insignificant entity,鈥� says Ms. Greene. 鈥淏ut that character, through his mental ability, his gift of articulation, can talk his way in and out of any situation where the foe is much bigger, stronger, and supposedly more intelligent.鈥澨�
History comes to life
As she turns to the three children next to her, Ms. Greene warmly cautions, 鈥淧eople are going to think that you are insignificant. ... But your gift of speech, quick thinking, and ability to strategize make you as strong as Harriet Tubman.鈥澨�
The children鈥檚 parents first brought them to Growing Griots to supplement the family鈥檚 home-school program. Now, the kids say Growing Griots has helped them come into their own voices.听
鈥淲hen I first joined, I was a bit more shy. I was a bit more nervous. I kind of kept to myself a bit,鈥� says 14-year-old Naomi Reid.听
In one activity, a mentor tells an African folktale to a student. The student then tells the same story back, focusing on getting the beginning, middle, and end right, but entirely in their own words.听
鈥淥ver time, I got more comfortable standing up and speaking,鈥� Naomi says. Since joining four years ago, she and her siblings have performed at The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore and shared African oral history on local news programs. 鈥淚t just makes me feel more confident to be around people and be able to express my opinions without worrying too much about what other people think.鈥�
For Mr. Butler, that鈥檚 the point. 鈥淲hen you come in here, we love you,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou are here with us. Oh, you can sing? Sing! Oh, you can write? Share with us!鈥澨�
Dr. Fakunle, who recently published an academic听听titled 鈥淲hat Anansi Did for Us: Storytelling鈥檚 Value in Equitably Exploring Public Health,鈥� says that kind of honest storytelling helps bridge the gaps that would seem to divide us.
鈥淲hen we have those moments to tell a story, honestly, openly, in a space of trust ... we鈥檙e reminded of the totality of our journey,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd it becomes ... not necessarily easy, but easier to at least acknowledge and appreciate the perspective that other people come from.鈥�
