POINT PLEASANT — The Friends of the Ocean County Library kicked off Black History Month by hosting storyteller Shirley Johnson of Sankofa Stories and instrumentalist Hollis Donaldson on Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Pt. Pleasant branch of the Ocean County Libraries.
The event used a collection of creative presentations, photos, stories, and music to celebrate the influence that African-American’s have had on history, while providing people in attendance with a fun and informative multicultural experience.
According to Shirley Johnson, her company uses storytellers, dancers, and drummers to tell “Afro-centric or multicultural” stories. Ms. Johnson says that she tells stories that have to do with the past, but have “morals with how to deal with the future”. This, Ms. Johnson says, creates a fun and welcoming environment to learn about different cultural experiences.
To kick off the event, Ms. Jackson asked everyone to imagine a world uninhabited by African-American’s. Then, she presented a collection of highly influential African-Americans throughout history, whose inventions or concepts have shaped the world as we know it today.
Ms. Jackson highlighted individuals such as African-American and Newark native John Standard, who in the late 1890’s, invented improvements to refrigerators that majorly influenced modern designs to the household application.
Ms. Jackson then passed the show to Hollis Donaldson, a storyteller and instrumentalist who goes by the name Uncle Aloysius the Master Storyteller. Once at the front, Mr. Donalson allowed kids in attendance to select one of numerous cards in his hands, all of which included a tale, story, or song that he then presented to the audience.
One story Mr. Donaldson told had Eastern-Asian roots, and was about a perilous quest a mother and her son take together to find a hidden kingdom. Another story Mr. Donaldson told featured a quick-witted monkey and an alligator who develop a deep friendship that eventually gets tested.
Although this was the first pairing between Ms. Jackson and Mr. Donaldson for an event, the two have frequently met one another at different story swapping events.
“I think it’s fantastic,” said Cindy Fragale, the children’s librarian in Point Pleasant, “to bring events to people in the community to experience different points of view and histories that they might not have otherwise discovered is really amazing.”
Ms. Fragale also made sure to thank The Friends of the Ocean County Library for their continued support and assistance in providing programs.
For full information on upcoming events, visit theoceancountylibrary.org.
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