Black Storytellers Alliance (BSA) was founded in 1971 by Vusumuzi Zulu and his late wife, Nothando Zulu. They are an affiliate of the National Association of Black Storytellers, which presents an annual festival for storytellers. This is the 34th year BSA has held a festival in the Twin Cities.
“It was our attempt to be able to share the art of storytelling from an African and African American perspective with folks in the Twin Cities metro area,” Zulu explains.
Nothando Zulu majored in theater in college. As a member of the local arts community, she gravitated to storytelling. She was friends with Minnesota’s first Black storyteller, Mattie Clark.
Clark, Nothando Zulu, and other local Black theater community members formed the Black Theater Alliance, where they performed impromptu theater in Minneapolis parks. Nothando Zulu had been going to national storytelling events every year until she finally convinced her husband to attend in 1995.
“I was in awe and amazed by the power and the beauty of stories that were being told by the master storytellers,” says Zulu. “I said, ‘We just have to do this in Minnesota because most Minnesotans have never been a part of anything like this.”
As a result, the Black Theater Alliance became BSA. They held their first event the following year in 1996; Black master storytellers nationwide were invited to share their talents.
“We made it free, which meant that we used our money,” explains Zulu. “Later on, we were able to secure some grants to help to pay for it.”
For the past 33 years, they have held festivals. “We tell Black folklore, myths, fables, and those [stories derived from] lived experiences,” explains Zulu. “Sometimes folks think that storytelling is just for kids. Well, no. It’s not.”
Zulu says audience members will find the interactive element most entertaining. Audience members may be asked to participate: “Come on up, I need Brother Rabbit,” the storyteller may ask.
“It’s more of the African style,” says Zulu. “People are invited into the story while the story is being told. If you are familiar with going to many Black churches, you’ll know there is call and response. We tell a full range of stories.”
This 34th annual event’s theme is “The Legacy of Black Loved Continues,” in honor of the late Nothando Zulu. “Nothando’s name means mother of love,” her husband explains. “And while she is now an ancestor, we think she is still with us, and the love that she had for the Black community is still present and [should] be shared.”
Outside of the annual festival, BSA provides instruction in the art of oral storytelling from an African and African American perspective through classes. As a 401c3 nonprofit, they travel across the county to schools and businesses where their local members share their craft. This included four weeks of storytelling at the Minnesota Arboretum this past summer.
On the fourth Monday of each month at UROC in Minneapolis, BSA holds a program called the Black Queens Project for Black women ages 40 and older. Their goal is to use storytelling to combat cardiovascular disease.
“Our mission is to use a safe, trusted space for using storytelling to deal with diabetes and cardiovascular illnesses,” explains Zulu. “We use storytelling to enable Black women, whose number-one cause of death is cardiovascular [disease], and diabetes contributes to that.”
The 34th Annual Black Storytellers Alliance Festival will feature Dr. Gcina Mhlopde from South Africa, Paul Best from Philadelphia, Toni Simons from Dallas, TX, and Mama Koku from Atlanta, GA. This year’s MC is Gran’ Daddy Junebug from Southern Pines, North Carolina.
The event opens on Thursday, Sept. 26, at Perpich Center for the Arts. “Friday, we have the liar contest where folks can come and tell their best tall tale,” says Zulu. “We say that we will offer $250,000 [as a grand prize], but that would be a lie.”
Anyone—young or old, child or adult—is encouraged to tell a tall tale and win a trophy. “When folks start talking about telling their tall tale, they have to be clean,” warns Zulu. “You can’t do Def Comedy Jam type.” The event includes a free soul food dinner and takes place at North Minneapolis’ Capri Theater.
The grand finale is held Saturday, Sept. 28, at Studio 900, 900 Hennepin Ave., in downtown Minneapolis. The Thursday and Saturday night events offer American sign language for the hearing impaired. Parking is free except for the Saturday event, and all events are held from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
“Folks who have not ever attended will find that they can’t wait until the next time to come back,” says Zulu. “It is a different experience when you are involved in interactive storytelling.”
It is a family-friendly event. “We want our young folks to know and value our stories, our histories,” says Zulu. “To understand the strength, the resilience, the courage that Black folks have shown as we have strived in this country.
“So, when you come to a Black storytellers festival, you will learn about us but you will leave feeling good about it. That’s our goal.”
For more information about BSA, go to blackstorytellers.com or email info@blackstorytellers.com.