The Springfield African-American Read-In, chaired by MSU Library Science faculty member Grace Jackson-Brown, is sponsoring several special events in February. The MSU Libraries is a co-sponsor. 

1. On Friday evening, February 28, beginning at 7 p.m., enjoy a storytelling presentation with storyteller Gladys Caines Coggswell in celebration of the Springfield African American Read-In.
   
   Ms. Coggswell is recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award by the Missouri Humanities Council. She will share stories that she has collected professionally over many years, as well as stories that were told to her by her great-grandmother. 
   
   This all-ages event is free and open to all and is co-sponsored by the Missouri Humanities Council. Her presentation will take place in the Santa Fe Room at the Library Station on N. Kansas Expressway.
   
   
2. On Saturday morning, February 29, from 9:00 to noon at the Springfield Art Museum, please join famed storyteller and author of the book “Stories from the Heart: Missouri’s African American Heritage,” Gladys Caines Coggswell and her storytelling apprentice, Angela Williams, for an interactive workshop titled “Developing and Telling Family Stories. 
   
   This free workshop is open to the public and is appropriate for amateur and professional storytellers, families, and young adults with an interest in storytelling. A free continental breakfast will be served.

The “Feast of Storytelling” events on Friday February 28, 2020 and Saturday February 29, 2020 are made possible through a 2020 Missouri Humanities Council Heritage Partnership Grant to the Springfield African American Read-In (AARI). The Springfield AARI is collaborative partnership of the Missouri State University Libraries, Springfield-Green County Library District, Springfield Public Schools, Drury University, and the NAACP Springfield Chapter. Dr. Grace Jackson-Brown, Associate Professor at Missouri State Libraries, has been chairperson of the Springfield AARI literacy initiative since its founding in 2009.