SAWUBONA
The Art of Storytelling
01
✦
Story
Black storytelling, oral history, folktale, lived experience, spoken word, and the creative voice.
BSA / MPLS / LIVING ARCHIVE / 001
Black Storytellers Alliance
STORY IS
MEMORY
IN MOTION.
Preserving, practicing, and passing forward African and African American oral tradition through story, education, festival, community, and intergenerational connection.
AFRICAN ORAL TRADITION / BLACK MEMORY / COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION
STORY • MEMORY • CULTURE • COMMUNITY • ANCESTORS • YOUTH • RHYTHM • HISTORY • STORY • MEMORY • CULTURE • COMMUNITY •
Festival / 2026
Sunday, October 11, 2026
Come gather in the circle.
Join the Black Storytellers Alliance for a celebration of storytelling, rhythm, culture, and community at WE WIN Institute's new building in Minneapolis.
Click the festival flyer to sign up.
Festival Sign Up
Click flyer to sign up
The Tradition / 01
A Living Oral Tradition
The story lives
because we tell it.
Black Storytellers Alliance carries forward a tradition in which story is more than entertainment. Story holds history, teaches values, preserves identity, gathers generations, and keeps community memory alive.
Read the BSA history →02
◉
Memory
Honoring elders, ancestors, history, cultural knowledge, and the experiences carried across generations.
03
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Community
Creating spaces for youth, families, storytellers, artists, schools, neighborhoods, and cultural institutions.
Ancestral Knowledge / 02
Transmission
The griot is an archive that can speak.
BSA’s roots connect the African Oral Tradition with Black cultural life in Minnesota. The redesigned site treats that history as living knowledge — not material locked in the past.
Living Archive / 03
Explore the Work
Many doors.
One tradition.
The historical pages from the previous BSA website remain available and are presented through one modern visual system.
ARCHIVE / 01Black Master Storytellers FestivalFestival history, events, announcements, and community gatherings.EXPLORE →
COMMUNITY / 02MembershipJoin the alliance and support the continuation of Black storytelling.JOIN →
LAND / 03Karamu GardenGrowing food, community, stewardship, and shared knowledge.ENTER →
YOUTH / 04Schools + YouthStorytelling experiences that connect young people to culture and imagination.LEARN →
PRACTICE / 05Programs + ServicesStorytelling, workshops, cultural education, and community engagement.EXPLORE →
Community / 05
Keep the Story Moving
There is a place for you in the circle.
Attend a festival. Bring storytelling into your school or organization. Become a member. Support the storytellers carrying the tradition forward.
From the Archive / 06
Latest stories + updates.
View all →Elementor #15065
33rd Annual Black Master Storytellers FestivalLine Up Toni SimmonsValerie TutsonGran’ Daddy JuneBugKunama MtendajiNothando ZuluDr Gcina Mhlophe Previous slide Next slide Toni Simmons
Read story →UJAMAA
UJAMAA (Cooperative Economics) To build and maintain our own stores, shops, & other businesses to support one another and profit from them…
Read story →Grant provided by MSAB Supports BSA’s September 2022 Festival
Grant provided by MSAB Supports BSA’s September 2022 Festival This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant…
Read story →
