I have a beautiful friend that I met (virtually) through a writing group a few years back. Her name is Lakeshia Poole. She is a writer and has successfully published novels and faith focused, guided journals. Lakeshia has published 2 novels, 2 novellas, 2 journals and a book titled, Faith Beats Fear which she says "is it’s own genre". I would describe it as a combination of a guided journal and devotional with some self-help in there for good measure!
Lakeshia has also created and led a couple 3-day Prayer and Pages Challenges that have brought about her latest book, RENEW 40 days of Prayers and Prompts to Power Up Your Life. She has an incredible heart for God and is a writer who follows the Lord's direction in her writing, and in what she creates for her social media content. If you follow me on social media, you know that I often post ab
out authors I enjoy, and whose stories I want to share. Lakeshia is one of those authors who encourages me daily!
This is Black History Month and I wanted to take some time to share Lakeshia with all of you.
As my friendship with Lakeshia grows, I am learning that there are a lot of cultural similarities we share. One I have recently learned about and can sincerely appreciate, is the way stories are told and passed along t
o others. Lakeshia shared with me that a really important piece of West African culture is a group called "Griots". A group of people who are responsible for the stories of the people, the ones who are also the mediators called upon in times of conflict and disputes.
Lakeshia shared with me that while this is not something that her family does formally, they do participate actively in the tradition of oral storytelling. She shared with me that while she was growing up she was surrounded by storytellers and she has been lucky enough to shoot videos with the Elders of her family, of their stories, to pass down from one generation to the next.
I asked Lakeshia if she would share with me a story of how she learned about the importance of sharing her history and culture so I could learn a bit more about the importance of storytelling from her perspective. I love seeing how her experience has led her to learn more about her family history and how the younger generation shows interest. It reminds me that it is up to us to share our stories for our children so they too learn where they come from.
"There is a sense of pride and connection you have when you know your personal history. When I was in 7th grade, my history teacher mentioned a famous figure who shared my last name and I thought it was interesting,
so I asked my father about it when I got home. “That’s your cousin,” he said. But I was shocked that he’d never told me much about him and I learned about my “famous cousin” at school. When you’re from a small town it can feel like you’ll never make it to a big stage or achieve great things. Knowing that my cousin had done that inspired me to open up to all the possibilities. From there, I made sure that I began to collect our family history, researching our genealogy and interviewing family members. I didn’t just ask them about our family tree, but I was able to capture them sharing everyday family stories. I created a video of the interviews alongside images of various family members and showed it at our annual family reunion. I was pleasantly surprised at how engaged the younger children were. Usually, they seemed bored out of their minds to listen to history, but they wanted to watch the video again and again."
In creating Faith Beats Fear, she shares this:
"I realize how intrinsic oral storytelling was to southern Black Americans. I grew up with my parents and family members telling stories on the porch in the evening or on Sundays after church. It was how we were able to honor our history as a culture but also as a family. Sometimes my Dad would tell the same funny stories over and over again and we would listen intently as if it was the first time. I learned so much from his storytelling — not just information, but how to keep people engaged. My father passed away over 10 years ago, but I still have so many stories to cherish in his absence and to pass on to the next generation. I wanted to create a character who embodied that spirit — an elder woman who carried wisdom and told stories as if you were sitting on a porch in the South right there with her. With Faith Beats Fear, I developed the narrator/main character Mrs. Rosa Mae. I believe that having the stories told by her we’re able to really enjoy the various characters and learn lessons of faith in a way that’s authentic and relatable."
In my own research on Black History and Black Culture, I find there are a lot of similarities to my own Indigenous history and culture and I feel so honored to share those similarities. Often Indigenous People will 'adopt' those around them as family for various reasons. As I learn more about Lakeshia, I know that she is absolutely someone I would adopt into my family and the more we talk, the more I feel like I have another sister in my life.
For more information I have included a link that Lakeshia shared with me, a Wikipedia article on griots to provide more insight: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griot
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