Teju the Storyteller Free Concert to Celebrate Martin Luther King Day

The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums presents a free performance with Teju the Storyteller to celebrate Martin Luther King Day on Monday, January 16, 2017 at 7:00 pm in the Platteville Municipal Auditorium in City Hall.

Teju comes from a long family tradition of storytellers. His mother and father, his grandmothers, one grandfather-and a great grandfather were storytellers. His stories are drawn from African traditions and African American history and folklore. His high-energy, fast paced and witty performances are spellbinding. These riveting performances always hint at wry humor, revolutionary teachings and lessons in love.

Teju’s show-stopping performances have earned him the distinction of being a repeated featured teller at Storytelling Festivals throughout the country. He was the first-place winner of the first National Open-Invitational Tall-Tale Tellers Contest (Liar’s Contest) Sponsored by the National Association of Black Storytellers. In 2002 he was the recipient of the most prestigious award in storytelling, the Zora Neale Hurston Award for “contributing to the perpetuation and preservation of African American Folklore.”

This program is funded in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Humanities Council with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the State of Wisconsin.  The Wisconsin Humanities Council supports and creates programs that use history, culture, and discussion to strengthen community life for everyone in Wisconsin. Museum Director Bolander says: “The Museums and I are thrilled that the Wisconsin Humanities Council is supporting our efforts to bring Teju the Storyteller to Platteville, as well as to celebrate Martin Luther King Day 2017 and the diversity of our community.”  Wisconsin Humanities Council Executive Director says, “we’re so pleased to help the museum and the Platteville community bring Teju to town to share and celebrate such a rich part of American history and culture.  There is no better way to come together than through stories.”

The Wisconsin Humanities Council is a leading statewide resource for librarians, teachers, museum educators, and city leaders, who drive entertaining and informative programs using history, culture, and discussion to strengthen community life for everyone.  The Wisconsin Humanities Council also awards more than $175,000 a year over seven rounds of grants to local organizations piloting humanities programming.  For more information on Wisconsin Humanities Council, visit http://wisconsinhumanities.org or connect on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WisconsinHumanitiesCouncil or Twitter at @WiHumanities.