Dr. Amina Blackwood-Meeks storyteller’s storyteller…a special and rare talent. After a successful career as a journalist, she has devoted her life to restoring an old Jamaican tradition – storytelling. Long, long ago, before electricity, radio and television, parents would sit with their children at night time and tell them stories about our history and our culture. We would hear stories about Anansi the spider, whose stories came all the way from Ghana where some of our forefathers came as slaves.were forcibly transported on ships, to work as slaves on sugar cane plantations in the Caribbean and the USA. Anansi is a Ghanian hero.

And there were always stories within stories. Now what does that mean? It means that the stories were lots of fun, but they also taught important things to children, like good manners and behaviour, why it is important to be truthful at all times, how to be kind and loving to each others, among others. other. These stories also were very important in keeping our traditions and history alive, because the slave masters wanted us to forget from whence we had come. They prevented us from celebrating our roots, but they could not prevent us from telling stories to our children, which were used to both entertain and educate them, so they could pass it on to their children.

Dr. Amina Blackwood-Meeks is now Jamaica’s most important story-teller. She performs for both children and adults, not only in Jamaica, but in other Caribbean islands storytelling festival in Jamaica. And it was a big success!, Africa, Europe and North America.

One person who heard her Amina tell her stories, said this of her:”: ”Her telling brings the meaning of the stories from the heads of our ancestors to the mouths of contemporary writers, showing how stories were used to pass on traditions, teach morals and preserve culture.”

This dynamic woman, whose name, is Arabic which means, honest, faithful and trustworthy. is also a successful writer, actress.

DYNAMIC: To be lively, active, and full of energy and new ideas

Photo – Dr. Amina Blackwood-Meeks