PROCLAMATION

MOTHER MARY CARTER SMITH
FEBRUARY 10, 1919 - APRIL 24, 2007                     

God graced the world with Mary Rogers Ward on February 10, 1919; and

Mary Rogers Ward came to be lovingly known and honored as Mother Mary Carter Smith; and

As a child, Mary received the nomenclature the “Good Reader” because of her love of books and African American history; and

Mother Mary Carter Smith impacted the lives of youth as a teacher and librarian in the Baltimore School system for 31 years with empowering lessons of African roots; and 

Mother Mary Carter Smith recognized the sacred and religious nature of storytelling as an essential element of culture; and

Mother Mary Carter Smith visited African homelands and embraced the creative heritage of Africa to preserve Blackstorytelling, as an elemental force in African American life; and 

Mother Mary Carter Smith co-founded Baltimore Big Sister-Little Sister in 1965 and served as the group's President for five years; and

Mother Mary Carter Smith was a founding member of the Arena Player's Theater in Maryland, the oldest African American owned and operated Theater in the United States; and

Mother Mary Carter Smith was an author and storyteller who forged pathways for the black storytelling profession; and

In 1970, on the grounds of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Mother Mary Carter Smith and Mama Linda Goss planted the seeds for a Black Storytelling Festival that took root in Baltimore, MD in 1983; and

Said Festival now known as the Annual National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference, “In the Tradition….”  is a perennial event and has been and continues to be annually held in cities across the countries; and

Under the spiritual guidance of Mother Mary Carter Smith, the planted seeds blossomed into an association known as the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc. with Affiliate organizations across the country; and

MotherMary Carter Smith was proclaimed Baltimore's Official Griot in 1983 by then Mayor William Donald Schaefer; Maryland's Official Griot in 1991 by then Governor William Donald Schaefer; and

Mother Mary Carter Smith extended the outreach of the Griotic Tradition in America via radio and television by hosting "Black Is" on Maryland Public Radio, "The Children's Hour" in Washington, D.C. and "Griot for the Young and Young at Heart" for over 20 years on Morgan University Radio, WEAA-FM; and 

Mother Mary trained young storytellers in WEAA-FM’s: Growing Griots” club -  a legacy which continues into the present century known as the Griots’ Circle of Maryland’s Growing Griots Literacy Learning Program; and

In1989, a likeness of Mother Mary Carter Smith was installed in the National Great Blacks In Wax Museum in Baltimore; and

Mother Mary Carter Smith was a founding member of the Griots Circle of Maryland in 1991; and 

Queen Mother Mary Carter Smith was honored as “America's Mother Griot” by Alex Haley and the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc.; and

Mother Mary Carter Smith is a Co-Founder of the National Association of Black Storytellers and deemed an international treasure; and

Mother Mary Carter Smith received the Life Time Achievement Award from the National Storytelling Association,

Mother Mary Carter Smith caused the Cowtail Switch to be the authoritative symbol of a Black Storyteller, "In the Tradition..."; and

Mother Mary was a woman of prayer and taught us to seek divine guidance in every situation

NOW THEREFORE, The Board of Directors of the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc., does hereby proclaim:

 FEBRUARY 10 as MOTHER MARY CARTER SMITH DAY
A Holiday for the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereto raised my Cowtail Switch and set my hand and caused the official seal of the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc. on this 10^thday of February, 2015

Karen Abdul-Malik
President
National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc.