Students can soon take part in the celebration of Black History Month as storyteller Allison Smith presents tales of African-Americans in history on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Culp Center’s Martha Street Culp Auditorium.
According to Stephanie Joiner of Multicultural Affairs, Smith took summer storytelling classes at ETSU.
“Another student, a friend of Allison’s, did a program with her last year. That’s how we got to know her,” Joiner said.
Smith has been warmly received wherever she has performed her dramatic African-American presentation, “Echoes of the Vision.” Her stories center around her handcrafted figurine business, Ale +2.
“I needed to talk about the figures I create – who they are, what they’re doing. Storytelling was a natural method of explanation,” she said.
Joiner said, “(Smith) gets really involved in the stories and almost seems to become the person she’s talking about. It will be an exciting presentation. Before her presentation, she will be working with students on a quilt from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. in the Culp Center.”
Smith has attended numerous storytelling seminars at Kent State University in Ohio and is a member of the Cleveland Association of Black Storytellers. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Ohio State University where she majored in public recreation. Currently, she is working towards a master’s degree in counseling with an emphasis on African-American history.
Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a noted African-American author and scholar, originally established Black History Month as Negro History Week in 1926.
It was Woodson’s hope that through this observance, all Americans would be reminded of their ethnic roots and that togetherness based on mutual respect would ensue among all racial groups.
Woodson, the first and only African-American born of slave parents to receive a Ph.D, said, “What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate and religious prejudice.”
The week-long observance evolved into the establishment of a month-long event in 1976.
This free event is being sponsored by the ETSU Office of Multicultural Affairs. Call 439-4210 for more information.

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