The Power of Stories

Today in assembly, I introduced the children to Black History Month and in particular the power of stories from cultures all around the world.

We discussed a little about some iconic historical figures of African heritage, including: Jesse Owens, Rosa Parks and Bob Marley, along with introducing the difficult subject of the slave trade and the pain it brought to millions during this awful period of history.

We looked at three particular stories from Afro-Carribean culture that really demonstrated the power sharing stories have for us all:

‘Mdi Msumi’ – a tale from Tanzania, East Africa. A myth about a mysterious tree.

‘Hickory Jack’ – a story-poem that introduces the subjects of colonisation and the slave trade, and their connection to the Caribbean.

‘People Could Fly’ – An example of popular black folktale literature handed down from African slaves.

Delivered by the wonderful performers from Bigfoot Arts Education, these had the children hooked and fully engaged in their powerful and emotive tales.

We will continue to look at stories from African and Caribbean culture this month along with other cultures throughout the year.

I am hoping that these will inspire the children to create some wonderful stories of their own to enter into the various writing competitions open to them in the coming weeks ahead…