MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA- March 5, 2021 – The renowned international storyteller, Dr. Amina Blackwood - Meeks delivered a message which shifted perspectives at the Sistas of D Ankh & Ma'at Sisterhood Circle on February 28, 2021 at 1:00 P.M.
The virtual attendees were welcomed one by one on zoom to witness Dr Blackwood-Meeks’ powerhouse presentation which focused on using storytelling to rebuild, educate and transform the African community.
Amina Blackwood-Meeks explored the importance of defying ‘sick stories,’ like the story of Rapunzel which, based on her interpretation, is a story representing the over sexualization of our children. She pointed to a European perspective on the story which looked at the devastating reality of the kidnapping of children who aid in their victimization. To cement her point, she quoted a Nigerian philosopher, Ben Okri, who in a book of essay told us that “People are as healthy and as confident as the stories they tell themselves. Sick storytellers can make their nations sick and sick nations make for sick storytellers.” Therefore, be mindful of the stories that are told.
The speaker recalled that her first encounter of being called a storyteller was not well received as it is now (because of the little value placed on storytellers). She has however come to recognize the importance of storytelling to “facilitate wellbeing of the wider community and allow for a deeper appreciation of one another,” a point made by John Lennon in the song “Imagine”. Storytelling can change the narrative of the three blind mice whose tails were chopped off, which alludes to a deeper and figurative meaning of how the disadvantaged are victimized and treated unfairly. However, sometimes in our quest for laughter that these stories provide, we neglect the greater message.
Dr Blackwood-Meeks encouraged the audience to imagine the world they want to create and to tell themselves good stories, so they can reinvent themselves and transform their narrative. As the presentation progressed, Dr Blackwood-Meeks pointed to The American religious history professor, Albert Raboteau, in his book, ‘Re-enchanting the World: Education, Wisdom and Imagination Re-enchanting the World’ who believes that “the path to re-enchantment lies in recovering wisdom, wisdom made most readily accessible in our stories, stories, particularly in the forms of folktales, myths and legends convey to us the collected wisdom of the human race. Stories develop or repair our capacity for wonder, our ability to make believe and make belief.”
The exciting and notorious storyteller ended the afternoon with her story of the ‘White Rabbit’ who had a song in his heart and the king Lion who wanted to be revered in the way the rabbit did. When that approval and applause never came for King Lion, he did all he could to jeopardize the rabbit, but the song on the rabbit’s heart remained. Dr Amina Blackwood-Meeks charged the audience to find that special song of hope and joy and never let it be disturbed.
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