Nationally recognized storyteller Mary Carter Smith died Tuesday of renal failure at the Genesis Eldercare Cromwell Center in Towson.
She was 88.
Smith?s unmatched ability to bring African folklore to life earned her the nickname “Mother Mary” and the title of “Griot,” which is an African word for “storyteller.”
In Africa, griots are the keepers of history, politics, culture and music, and the griots? mission is to remind people of their history through storytelling and song.
“I am among those who fight misunderstanding,” Smith once said. “The weapons I use are stories, drama, songs, poetry and laughter. I bring entertainment with a purpose.”
Smith, co-founder of the National Association of Black Storytellers, used her powerful skills and knowledge of African culture to inform all races about black history and human triumph.
Even before she began touring, Smithwas expanding the minds of Baltimoreans, both as a teacher and a city librarian for 31 years.
She was an alumna of what was then Coppin Teacher?s College and a griot-in-residence at Morgan State University in the early 1970s.
“Mary also hosted ?Griot for the Young and the Young at Heart,? a Morgan State radio program, for more than 20 years,” said Fellisco Keeling, a friend of Smith?s and an administrative assistant for NABS. “She was in the forefront of the international black storytelling movement.”
To honor her many achievements, Morgan State?s WEAA-FM named a studio after Smith.
She also was a writer, and much of her poetry and prose was published.
In 2004, her autobiography, “A Tale That Is Told,” was published.
“She hoped people would listen to her and tell their own stories,” Keeling said. “Everyone should share and be heard so that their heritage might be preserved.”
