GRIOT [gree-oh]

(n.) In West Africa, a storyteller and oral historian who serves as the keeper of community histories, genealogies, and cultural traditions, often using music, poetry, and storytelling to recount the achievements and lineages of families and historical figures, thus preserving the collective memory of their societies and ensuring that the wisdom and lessons of the past are passed down through generations.

It is difficult to accept, but the truth is:

Elders who are with us today may not be with us tomorrow.

And elders alive today have critical testimony to share: firsthand accounts of the past, precious knowledge of family histories, and wisdom earned from decades of freedom struggles.

Listening to and honoring elders is an age-old practice of African and African-descended communities around the world. Today, however, we are able to preserve and amplify elders’ testimonies in ways never before possible.

Through the Institute’s partnership with Kinfolkology, Turner-Hines-Franklin Institute Distinguished Fellows (data scientists, scholars, artists, and expert practitioners) will work with descendant communities, through Kinfolkology x Community workshops, to design Remembering Kinfolk, a database of remembrance built for family archives.