On Friday evening, February 28, 2020, approximately 30 people gathered in the Santa Fe Room of the Library Station on North Kansas Expressway to celebrate Black History Month by listening to award-winning storyteller Gladys Caines Coggswell.

Ms. Coggswell is a recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award by the Missouri Humanities Council and author of the book, Stories from the Heart: Missouri’s African American Heritage. Ms. Coggswell was assisted in her presentation by Angela Williams, her apprentice. 

This “Feast of Stories” event was made possible through a 2020 Missouri Humanities Council grant awarded to the Springfield African American Read-In (AARI). The Springfield AARI is a collaborative partnership of five organizations: Springfield-Greene County Libraries, the Missouri State University Libraries, Drury University, Springfield Public Schools, and the Springfield Chapter of the NAACP. Generous support for the 2020 events was also received from the Springfield Art Museum.