On a gray December evening, onlookers filed into the Cedar Cultural Center as bursts of Afropop floated through the speakers. Just minutes before the show, the energy ran particularly taut — In the low light, children chased each other through rows of seating, the scrape of chairs across the hardwood floors echoing across the room. Audience members seemed largely familiar with each other, people of all ages embracing each other warmly. In the spirit of Kwanzaa, this December’s Griot Series had all the works, including a storytelling session, choreographed dances, musical performances, poetry recitations, and a massive drum circle.

Spearheaded by activist Kenna-Camara Cottman and hosted in conjunction with local arts group Voice of Culture, the Griot Series draws inspiration from West African oral tradition, particularly the role of the “griot,” i.e. a highly respected storyteller, musician, and historian. As Cottman touched on in a recent Cedar Q&A, “Because we have ancestry from West Africa, we carry that oral tradition into our Black American experience. There are many different manifestations [of this oral tradition], like drumming, dancing, singing, storytelling, and visual art.” The Griot Series gatherings embrace all such forms, and take each month to explore different facets of Black identity and culture, be it Afrofuturism, Juneteenth, or Kwanzaa.  

Spurred by a recent shift in leadership at the Cedar, Cottman had approached the venue last year with visions of a recurring cultural series. A longtime KFAI volunteer and collaborator, Cottman’s ties with the Cedar-Riverside area run deep, and Cottman had long hungered for a chance to build a safe, creative space. At the end of the day, Cottman’s primary goal is to “create more access and engagement for Black people to do Black things in Minneapolis.” 

“We’ve entrusted Kenna to curate the program to their vision,” Cedar booking director Mary Brabec shared over email. “[The Cedar Cultural Center] provides the stage, tech, box office, promotion, etc. [Kenna] brings the artists, vendors, storytellers, beauty. It was set up and intended to be a collaboration and celebration of community.”

At its core, the Griot Series is about Black liberation. “No matter what way we connect with our Blackness, we are struggling to be free in this world,” Cottman pointed out over the phone. “Our cultural arts, our healing practices, the creative ways we move through space … are all part of that liberation.” 

As such, an Afrocentric, abolitionist ethos permeates every part of these shows. Based on Kwanzaa’s principle of cooperative economics, each Griot Series includes an Ujamaa, i.e. an open marketplace featuring local creators. The Angela Day School initiative is a notable inclusion, and founder Dianna Myles felt both the school and the Griot Series were strongly aligned: “What we’re creating for the school is holistic education, with a lens of liberation… If Black spaces are not created intentionally, it’s just not gonna get done. This is the reason it seemed like a good fit, to connect with Kenna and the work they’re doing in Minneapolis. We wanted to table at these Griot events.” 

When it comes to organizing the events, Cottman eschews the title “curator,” purporting themselves as more of a “gatherer” of talent: “Everyone performing at the series is a griot in their own cultural traditions. I know these folks from cultivating relationships in the Twin Cities Black arts community since I was a teen. I have a unique connection with each artist.” Armed with lists of thematic ideas and potential performers, Cottman begins the painstaking process of assembling a Griot Series lineup roughly six weeks before each event.

Endearingly, many of the Griot Series performers are drawn from local youth groups, including WE WIN and Jerry Gamble Boys & Girls Club. December’s Griot Series even featured Brother Lonzo as MC, who had promptly introduced himself as a seventh grader passionate about football, baseball, and basketball. “I do a lot of work with youth,” Cottman said. “I’ve been working with Brother Lonzo since I was his teacher in second or third grade… I also volunteer at Jerry Gamble’s, teaching people how to read. I like helping people learn what’s going on with themselves, you know, emotional awareness. So I just bring my work with youth wherever I go.”

For this month’s installment, AFROFUTURISTIC HERSTORY, Cottman plans to center women, femme, and trans artists. Inspired by Danyel Smith’s Shine Bright, a meditation on the influence of Black women on American pop, Cottman has enlisted a host of talent, including Alicia Steele, DejaJoelle, Tearra Oso, and Yvette Griffea-Gray. 

“Art is a way of communicating without using colonized language,” Steele shared over a phone call. “As this event’s griot, I’ll be facilitating us through the evening, as well as do some storytelling. I’m encouraging folks to express themselves and move around in the space. For next Tuesday, you can expect some heartbeat rhythms, some curated love energy. Expect to have a free flowing and thorough time.” 

The next installment of the Griot Series will take place on Monday, Feb. 20. For more information, visit the Cedar Cultural Center’s website.