Alice McGill
Encyclopedia
Alice McGill is an award-winning author of children's books and a professional storyteller. In many of her books have African American protagonists or deal with African American issues.
Molly Bannaky, the story of a young British girl in 17th century America who became the grandmother of Benjamin Banneker
, the first black man to publish an almanac, was an ALA Notable Book and winner of the 2000 IRA Picture Book Award and the 2000 Jane Addams Award.
McGill was born in the small rural town of Scotland Neck, North Carolina
, where she attended a four-room school. She was strongly influenced by her parents, both of whom were readers and storytellers. She won a four-year scholarship to Elizabeth City State Teacher's College, where she earned a degree in elementary education. She taught school for many years before becoming a full time, traveling storyteller.
Her storytelling research has taken her to 41 states and Canada, as well as the West Indies and Africa, and she brings her repertoire of American, African, and African American folklore and folk traditions to libraries, classrooms and other venues around the country. One of her most well-known performances re-creates the life of Sojourner Truth
; the story is based on Truth’s own writings on abolition, women’s rights, motherhood and other topics.
McGill is married and lives in Columbia, Maryland
.
Molly Bannaky, the story of a young British girl in 17th century America who became the grandmother of Benjamin Banneker
Benjamin Banneker
Benjamin Banneker was a free African American astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, almanac author and farmer.-Family history and early life:It is difficult to verify much of Benjamin Banneker's family history...
, the first black man to publish an almanac, was an ALA Notable Book and winner of the 2000 IRA Picture Book Award and the 2000 Jane Addams Award.
McGill was born in the small rural town of Scotland Neck, North Carolina
Scotland Neck, North Carolina
Scotland Neck is a town in Halifax County, North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 2,362. It is part of the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, where she attended a four-room school. She was strongly influenced by her parents, both of whom were readers and storytellers. She won a four-year scholarship to Elizabeth City State Teacher's College, where she earned a degree in elementary education. She taught school for many years before becoming a full time, traveling storyteller.
Her storytelling research has taken her to 41 states and Canada, as well as the West Indies and Africa, and she brings her repertoire of American, African, and African American folklore and folk traditions to libraries, classrooms and other venues around the country. One of her most well-known performances re-creates the life of Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was the self-given name, from 1843 onward, of Isabella Baumfree, an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, she...
; the story is based on Truth’s own writings on abolition, women’s rights, motherhood and other topics.
McGill is married and lives in Columbia, Maryland
Columbia, Maryland
Columbia is a planned community that consists of ten self-contained villages, located in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It began with the idea that a city could enhance its residents' quality of life. Creator and developer James W. Rouse saw the new community in terms of human values, not...
.