Mary Carter-Smith has been a teacher, librarian, historian, author, poet, philosopher, actress, radio personality, singer, African Folklorist and Griot during her career. She has taught in the Baltimore City Public Schools for thirty-one years and for twenty-five years has volunteered her services hosting a Saturday morning radio show, "Griot for the Young and the Young at Heart," on VEAA-FM at Morgan State University.

Mary Carter Smith was named the official Griot of Baltimore in 1983. Over the years, she has written books of poetry, performed extensively on radio and television, and is a favorite at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. In 1996, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the National Storytelling Association in recognition to the preservation and perpetuation of storytelling in America.

Mother Griot is also the co-founder of the National Association of Black Storytellers, the National Festival of Black Storytelling, Big Sisters and Little Sisters, and a founding member of the arena players, Inc. in Baltimore, MD where she is enshrined at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum. Mary Carter Smith is also a member of Huber Memorial Church of Christ, the Alpha Zeta Chapter, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, and the N.A.A.C.P.

Her extensive repertoire of stories, poems and dramatic sketches has been developed through a recollection of experiences drawn throughout her own life. Mother Mary is a Teacher, Poet, and Visionary who is inspired by the emergence of the Black culture expression of the 1960's and the misunderstanding among groups that she observed again and again in American society. Mother Mary has helped revive storytelling As an important voice within today's African-American culture and brought that awareness to the larger storytelling community.

Bring Living History to your next function. It will be extra special to book Mother Griot for your organization, festival, concert or school, or university.

For information and booking Mother Mary, call:
(410) 323-4458

Mother Mary Carter Smith
4509 Kenilworth Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21212

E-mail: YourStoryteller@aol.com