Two couples who employ the art of storytelling to create positive change and community healing in the Twin Cities were honored at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service celebration sponsored by Sweet Potato Comfort Pie and the Breck School. At the event on Sunday, January 15, 2023, Larry Johnson and Elaine Wynne (left) and Nothando and Vusumuzi Zulu (right) posed before banners that highlight their contributions in “poetic profiles.” Their banners are among the new additions to the 25 banners in “Character Values: Upholding Beloved Community,” an exhibit initiated in 2021 by Sweet Potato Comfort Pie to celebrate community members whose lives reflect values underlying the nonprofit’s mission: to advance racial justice and equity, heal damage caused by race-based trauma, and elevate marginalized voices and experiences. Led by activist and storyteller Rose McGee, Sweet Potato Comfort Pie achieves its mission in part by convening story circles where participants share their thoughts and feelings about race. And, of course, by baking and sharing what Rose calls “the sacred dessert of Black people.”
Larry and Elaine, known as the Key of See Storytellers when working in tandem, spread a message of peace through storytelling. Elaine, an EMDR therapist, is a founder of the Veterans Resilence Project. Larry, himself a veteran, media literacy educator, and author, for many years organized the Twin Cities celebrations of World Storytelling Day.
Nothando and Vusumuzi Zulu founded the Black Storytellers Alliance and have sustained it for nearly four decades. They are dedicated to the preservation of the oral tradition of storytelling. In addition to sharing African and African American folklore, they also tell true stories of Black history. With a deep love for the community of North Minneapolis, they teach the next generations of tellers to carry on the Black griot tradition. Every year, they organize the Signifyin’ & Testifyin’ Black Master Storytellers Festival, bringing outstanding Black tellers from across the US and beyond to the Twin Cities to entertain and inspire.