Union-Tribune (San Diego, CA), January 15, 2006
Summary:
Wearing a ceremonial hat from the Ga people of West Africa, storyteller Alyce Smith Cooper captivated a crowd at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day multicultural festival.
“There is a mystique that storytellers have, that draw people in,” said Jacki Taylor, coordinator of the festival. “This is a really good chance to learn about other cultures.”
“Stories are the repository for values, they are the frame, the container of culture,” Smith Cooper said after her performance.
Sharing stories and culture while celebrating King’s birthday is especially important to Smith Cooper, who is known as the Ancestral Storyteller.
“Martin Luther King was inspired to change the world by the things around him,” Smith Cooper said. “His stories help us to recognize that we can be part of that. We are here to remember the values that he stood for, and that he died for.”
Subjects Covered: diversity training, education, storytelling festivals