The Detroit Association of Black Storytellers

The New North Star

DABS Mission StatementThis organization shall promote and perpetuate the

ancient art of African storytelling and the traditions of Black storytelling, usingthe knowledge and wisdom contributed from folklore and ancestral stories.

DABS LeadershipCO-FOUNDER - Amy Jackson PRESIDENT –Jatu Grey VICE PRESIDENT -Larry CastleberrySECRETARY – Gwendolyn Lewis TREASURER –Laura Franklin MEMBERSHIP – Vickie SlaughterPROMOTIONS – Larry Castleberry HISTORIAN- Michele Pierrie Editor - Janice Burnett

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Meet the Storyteller : Anthony Ross

~Tone the Baritone Storyteller ~

Why am I a Storyteller?I marvel the opportunity as a storyteller / speaker to tickle listenerribs but also share black history, morals, food for thought, racerelations, aha moments, fascinating tall tales of infamous truestories and tell the black story,

The tools I use to develop my craft:I try to prepare myself by thinking of ways to get people engagedduring my telling. I try to relate to what people have gonethrough and continue to go through in their lives. It is soimportant that the stories of Africans who live in America are toldand that the youth of America hears the history of AfricanAmericans

What gifts do you bring to the art of storytelling?I hope that what I bring to this craft is the gift of promotion. It is so important that the worldknows that storytelling is a true art and must be promoted at every opportunity. It is a mustthat storytelling be kept in America’s face for there is a story to be told by each and everyoneof us. As long as I am alive I will always be promoting the art of storytelling.

The Quilter’s StoryThe folk art of quilting flows down to us from our Africanancestors. The roots of this ancient art did not begin with theenslaved women learning a craft in America. Our ancestorsbrought this craft with them. The textile traditions ofAfrican peoples are less thoroughly documented than otheraspects of folk art as noted in music, dance, or speech.However, what is known can be traced back to the prominentinfluences of civilizations of Central and West Africa. Thetextiles of enslaved persons were traded heavily throughoutthe Caribbean, Central America and the Southern United

States; the traditions of each distinct region became intermixed. The themes and patterns of quilting havebeen influenced by African aesthetic, religious and cultural patterns.Originally in Africa the weaving of textiles and creating their patterns was the artistry of men but whenAfricans were brought to America their work was divided according to Western patriarchal standards andwomen took over the tradition. There are many cultural traditions that may be seen in the art of quilting.The strong tradition of weaving left a visible mark on African American quilting. The strips reminiscent ofthe strips of reed and fabric used in men’s traditional weave are still used in fabric quilting. The use oflarge shapes and strong colors evident in African textiles served very a practical purpose: the need to beable to recognize people from far distances was crucial for warring tribes and traveling hunting parties. Thistradition continues to present day quilters. The use of asymmetry is a common tool. Traditional Africanweave was not regulated by specific pattern. The creator of the weave was free to change and alternate thepattern. The theme of the work was to create a large fabric of separate weaves sown together rather thanone repeating pattern.For a long time it had been commonly thought that enslaved women in the general population did not makequilts. Little time would be left for personal sewing after a grueling day; however, research has shown thatenslaved women were quilters. Made from scraps and heavily used clothing few of those personal quiltshave survived to be studied today.For enslaved African women quilting had many venues, practical asserving the warmth and comfort of the owner’s family, personal warmthand comfort and as an expression of their own artistry and resilience.Enslaved African women were very resourceful “using throw away ortrashed items” for their quilting. They also used scraps from materialused to make their clothes, gunny, feed, flour, tobacco and sugar sacks.The inner layer of the quilt was filled with worn out clothing, bits andpieces of wool and or raw cotton.The craft of quilting can be traced back to the culture and artistry of ourAfrican ancestors. The work of quilting is also a testament to thedefiant resilience of gifted artisans who have passed on their legacy toAfrican American quilters of today.

Fry, Gladys - Marie, Stitched From the Soul. 2002, University of North Carolina Press.

Making History TodayThis month Mellody Hobson will become the first AfricanAmerican woman to sit as chair of the board of directors ofStarbucks. Her story is a worthy tribute for this women’s month,particularly a tribute to our resilient sisters making moves.Mellody Hobson, born in Chicago in 1969, the youngest of sixchildren born to Dorothy Ashley, a struggling real estate agent.Money was scarce and the family was forced to move frequently.The challenge of poverty was a major incentive for youngMellody, shaping her goals and incentives for education. “ I usedto cry if I couldn’t go to school” she told a reporter. She wasalways a serious student even during the most difficult days.

Ms Hobson does not hide her obsession with education. Her fifth grade teacher Ms Falbo, would record weeklyspelling tests by having students score their neighbor’s exam and read the grade aloud. If everyone got a perfectscore, then each person in the entire class would get two Girl Scout cookies. But if one person missed, therewould be no cookies for anyone. The words were like “concatenation (the linking of events in a chain).” ThenMs Falbo said, “Hobson, 90 percent.” I missed a word. I’m mortified. I’m praying, I need someone else tomiss or I’m toast at recess. They get to the last person and no one else has missed. Ms Falbo looks at me.“Hobson, I’m not going to punish the rest of the class for your incompetence. You can step into the hallwaywhile we enjoy our Girl Scout cookies. I’m thinking to myself “don’t cry.” I’m looking into the room throughthe glass door at everyone enjoying their Girl Scout cookies, and I say to myself, “Never again. I will never, everfail at something related to school again. It unleashed my obsession”Her life’s motto is “To live an interesting life, be surrounded by good people and leave the world a better place.”Charles Schulz former CEO of Starbucks says of Ms Hobson, “She is the kind of person that if you called her at3am in the morning and asked her to get something impossible done, she would have it done at sunrise.”Following graduation from Princeton she went to work for Ariel, one of the largest AfricanAmerican owned money management and mutual fund companies in the United States. MsHobson has been committed in her goal of spreading financial literacy, she often says herlifetime goal is to make the stock market a regular topic of dinner-table conversation for everyAfrican-American family. Ms Hobson created and hosted a show on ABC in 2009 calledUnbroke: What You Need to Know About Money, the show featured such celebrities as theJonas Brothers, Oscar the Grouch and Samuel L. Jackson. The show was premised on herbelief that the emotions we have around money prevent us from being able to deal with andface money issues in our lives. Money habits are one of our most learned behaviors.She was also a contributor to financial segments on Good Morning America for many years.Ms Hobson is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Ariel Investment Trust. She rose to become Ariel’s seniorvice president and director of marketing. In 2000 she became the company’s president. In 2015 she was namedto Time Magazine’s list of World’s 100 Most Influential People. Ms Hobson and her husband gifted her almamater Princeton University $25 million. The university announced that it will build and name a new dorm forMs Hobson. She will be the first African American woman to have her name on a freshmen residential hall atPrinceton. YOU GO SISTA!!!!!!

PLANTAINS IN COCONUT MILK RECIPEThis Swahili dish made from plantains is a delicious accompaniment forany curry dish.

PREP TIME10 mins COOK TIME 20 minsTOTAL TIME 30 mins YIELDS 4 Servings

INGREDIENTS4 plantains, ripe or nearly ripe½ tsp mild curry powder½ tsp cinnamon (optional)3 a few cloves or a pinch of powdered cloves (optional)salt to taste1 tbsp butter (optional)3 tbsp water1 ½ cups coconut milk

INSTRUCTIONS1 Peel plantains. Cut plantains into slices, or into quarters by cuttingonce lengthwise and once across the middle.

2 In a saucepan, combine all ingredients except coconut milk. Heatslowly, stir gently. When the plantains are hot and beginning to becometender, add coconut milk little by little, stirring to allow it to beabsorbed. Simmer until plantains are tender. Add a little water ifnecessary to achieve a thick sauce.

http://www.congocookbook.com/recipes/plantains-in-coconut-milk/?print=1

SPOTLIGHT ON BUILDING YOUR STORYTELLING MUSCLE

Fry, Gladys - Marie, Stitched From the Soul. 2002,University of North Carolina Press.Ms Fry has authored and co-authored several books on thistopic. This work is the result of her undertaking a nationalsearch to locate slave-crafted textiles, Gladys-Marie Fryuncovered a treasure trove of pieces. The 123 color andblack and white photographs featured here highlight manyof the finest and most interesting examples of the quilts,woven coverlets, counterpanes, rag rugs, and crochetedartifacts attributed to slave women and men. In a newpreface, Fry reflects on the inspiration behind her originalresearch--the desire to learn more about her enslavedgreat-great-grandmother, a skilled seamstress--and on thedeep and often emotional chords the book has struckamong readers bonded by an interest in African Americanartistry.

Hicks, Kyra E. Black Threads. 2016, McFarland Press, Jeffrson,NC.One million African Americans spend approximately $118 millionannually on quilting. Some believe that recent studies of oralhistories telling of the role quilting played in the UndergroundRailroad have inspired African Americans to take up their fabricand needles, but whatever the reason, quilters like FaithRinggold, Clementine Hunter, Winnie McQueen, and manyothers are keeping the African American traditions of quiltingalive. This is the first comprehensive guide to African Americanquilt history and contemporary practices. It offers more than1,700 bibliographic references, many of them annotated,covering exhibit catalogs, books, newspapers, magazines,dissertations, films, novels, poetry, speeches, works of art,advertisements, patterns, greeting cards, auction results, andonline resources on African American quilting.

DABS TALK

QUOTE for Women’s Month: “ They Whispered to her you can’twithstand the storm. She whispered back, I AM THE STORM,