Programs
Storytelling Programs, Performance Workshops & Teacher Guides
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Trailblazers: African Americans in the California Gold Rush |
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The Days When the Animals Talked |
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Nuggets of Wisdom |
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In the Tradition! |
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I'm Not Getting On, Until Jim Crow Gets Off! |
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In Our Own Words: Young People in U.S. History |
Trailblazers: African Americans in the California
Gold Rush (4th-8th grade)
Discover the origin of how California got its name. Enter
into the lives and
world of James Beckwourth, fur trader and trapper, and best known
pre-1848 overland black
immigrant; Sylvia Stark, former slave and teen pioneer, whose father
bought her
family's
freedom in 1851 with the money he made in the California gold rush;
Mifflin Gibbs,
abolitionist and co-organizer of the Colored Conventions in 1855 and
1856 in Sacramento
and in 1857 in San Francisco --these meetings initiated the first civil
rights campaigns
in the
West; and Biddy Mason who was born into slavery and forbidden to read
and write in the
South but Ms. Mason was emancipated in 1856 in California and became
the wealthiest woman
in California by the end of the century.
The Days When The Animals Talked
Meet
Anansi the Spider, Brer' Rabbit, and friends. The
star character in many of these tales is the trickster. Often
trickster/heroes overcome
adversity in ways which do not usually reflect superior physical
strength but wit and
natural cunning. Sometimes they rely on pranks, deceit, and mischief to
triumph over more
powerful creatures. Sometimes the trickster is portrayed as a foolish
character who
humorously humiliates himself and ends up the object of the lesson.
Trickster tales can be
helpful in emphasizing a society's value structure and the specific
characteristics of a
community of people or culture. The trickster tale can generate a
valuable discussion of
dishonesty and the need to be alert to real life tricksters who could
take advantage of
us. This program also features tall tales.
Nuggets of
Wisdom
This interactive storytelling concert features
African and
African-American folktales, fables, and personal stories that introduce
themes,
situations and issues that stretch our imagination and understanding of
"good character". Themes include: being proud of who you are,
fairness, respect for others, personal responsibility, friendship, and
courage.
In the Tradition!
Stories are gifts that are presented from one generation to another in the hope that the cultural legacy might continue. Experience a rich mosaic and spirited celebration of the black oral tradition - folktales, trickster tales, conjure tales, proverbs, s/heroes, slave, work, and play songs handed down in the oral tradition to you!
I'm Not Getting On Until Jim Crow Gets Off!
Teen & Women Activists in the Montgomery Bus Boycott download flyer for this progam
I'm Not Getting On Until Jim Crow Gets Off is an interactive performance and dialog on a watershed moment in U.S. History, the Montgomery Bus Boycott and its significance in advancing democracy in the United States. The oral histories on the women in the Montgomery movement are presented through a talking timeline that lets the audience reclaim this herstory in collective memory.
Different historical players' voices and stories weave the
historical narrative. By interacting with the audience, Awele
deconstructs (and the audience explores) the complexities of this
layered her/ history and together they link it to contemporary themes
and issues.
Audiences are given opportunities to collaboratively build working
definitions of key concepts presented in the performance, to discuss
content with their peers and with the researcher/writer/storyteller,
and to interview characters about their motivations. The program
concludes with the creation of a human sculpture / image theatre (by
volunteers from the audience) to celebrate the role of women as leaders
and foot soldiers in the freedom struggle.
Historical Links:
13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments; Reconstruction Black
Codes and Laws; Plessy v. Ferguson; Brown v. Board of Education;
Ghandian Nonviolent Resistance; Direct Action; Some Core Values of
Democracy; The African American Freedom Struggle; The Beloved
Community. Resources at http://www.awele.com
Suggested Audiences/Departments
Women's Studies, Ethnic Studies, American Studies/U.S.
History, Education, Peace & Reconciliation, Religion, Performance
Studies, Freedom Struggles & Global Movements
Time
Adult Program: 90 min. minimum - 2 hours
Middle & High School Program: 75 min. minimum
Engaging Audiences in Historical Inquiry
- Consider the 3 C's of history: context, chronology, amd causation
- increase/enhance content knowledge by thinking deeply on how issues shape our world
- examine historical evidence and develop different explanations and arguments over its meaning, its significance, and how best to explain and understand the ideas and motives of its author(s)
- explore multiple perpectives and explore decisions based on democratic principles and beliefs
- pose questions of the themes and issues embedded in the history that apply to the 21st Century
4: The struggle for racilia and gender equality and for the extension of civil liberties.
4A: The student understands the "Second Reconstruction" and its advancement on civil rights.
Therefore, the student is able to
7-12 Explain the origins of the postwar civil rights movement and the role of the NAACP in the legal assault on segregation. [Analyze multiple causation]
5-12 Explain the resistance to civil rights in the South between 1954 and 1965. [Identify issues and problems in the past]
Social Studies Standards
Strand #2 Time, Continuity, and Change; Strand #5 Individuals, Groups, and Institutions; Strand #6 Power, Authority, and Governance
In Our Own Words: Young People in U.S. History
This program features oral histories of young people that
have shaped U.S. history in small and large ways. If we truely
believe that young people are the future we must tell them the
narratives of their counterparts so that they can see themselves as
significant history players and history makers throughout time.
