Our Sponsors
Esteemed storytellers Mary Carter Smith of Baltimore, MD and Linda Goss of Philadelphia, PA are the founders of the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc.
They conceived the idea in 1982 to give more opportunities for African American storytellers to be heard and for more of the rich heritage of the African Oral Tradition to be shared and preserved.
The first "In The Tradition..." Festival of Black Storytelling was held in the McKeldin Center at Morgan State University (MSU) in Baltimore, Maryland, November 18-19, 1983. Festival sponsors were Alpha Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. (Linda Jenkins Brown, Chapter Basileus), and Morgan's Social Science Department. The festival also received a grant from the Maryland Humanities Council, Inc.
In November 1984, the second Festival of Black Storytelling was held in Philadelphia. It was at this time that these two visionary storytellers saw and felt participants' desire and need to share, celebrate and preserve the African and African American Oral Tradition as a formal entity. Thus began the Association of Black Storytellers.
The Association was incorporated in 1990 and became known as the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc. (NABS).
The festival is now known as the National
Black Storytelling Festival and Conference.
NABS welcomed its first two affiliate
organizations in 1992.
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Affiliates of the National Association of
Black Storytellers (NABS) serve as regional
and community-based extensions of the
national organization, advancing its mission
to preserve, promote, and perpetuate the art,
traditions, and cultural legacy of Black
storytelling.
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NABS Affiliates are responsible for cultivating local storytelling communities through year-round programming, including educational workshops, performances, youth engagement initiatives, community partnerships, and cultural preservation activities. Affiliates provide leadership and organizational infrastructure that supports storytellers at the local and regional level while aligning with the values, standards, and strategic goals of NABS.
A core function of NABS Affiliates is the co-hosting and local implementation of NABS-sanctioned annual festivals, conferences, and major convenings. In this role, affiliates collaborate with the NABS National Organization to plan, promote, and execute events that celebrate Black storytelling, history, and culture. This includes coordinating venues, local partnerships, volunteers, hospitality, community outreach, and on-the-ground logistics, while working in alignment with national leadership, programming guidelines, and festival themes.
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Through these efforts, NABS Affiliates serve as cultural anchors within their regions, ensuring that national storytelling traditions are meaningfully rooted in local communities and that NABS’s annual festivals and convenings are accessible, impactful, and reflective of both national vision and local voice.
The list of current affiliates can be found by clicking here.
