The Issue of Safety in Our Communities has been Intensified by the Ferguson, Mo. Grand Jury Decision

We, the National Association of Black Storytellers Inc., are acutely sensitive to the events and actions made concerning the residents and communities affected by the Grand Jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri.

The conditions that led to a no-indictment verdict, and the subsequent reactions to that ruling, are indicative of the pressures that have been thrust upon communities throughout our country.  Selective employment issues, punitive quality of life decisions, and misrepresentation in legislative houses, reinforced by a lack of deference for racial equality and cultural integrity, have led to the actions witnessed in Ferguson. 

As a membership organization with a national base, serving ALL communities within and outside of our national borders, we are appalled by the questionable judgments, and inequality demonstrated by legal powers in the state of Missouri; and, we join the collective in a Call to Action for federal intervention.

When a system is unjust, our voices must be heard.
When a community is suffering, our voices must be heard.
When children and families are hurting, our voices must be heard; and
When a process has been compromised and corrupted, we must speak out and tell our stories.

The Michael Brown Family has every right to speak out and continue to share their pain and story, for it is an American story; and, we as Black Storytellers, “In the Tradition….” of our ancestors such as Richard Allen, David Walker, Frederick Douglas, Sojourner Truth, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, and Ida B. Wells, and others who have expressed our outrage and who have fought against injustice, have the right to express our concern for the safety of our families, and raise our voices in the oral tradition to build awareness and use the power of story for legal, cultural, and social change.

The tragic events of the past few weeks have caused disappointment and sorrow. We must be diligent in our resolve; clear in our stories; and let our voices ring with the sounds of liberty, justice, and unity.

In the Spirit of Collective Action, 
National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc.

                       Mama Linda Goss                                    Karen “Queen Nur” Abdul-Malik

          Founder                                                             President