About the Author

Playwright, storyteller, performer, Njoki McElroy taught Performance Studies of Black Literature for thirty-five years at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.  She is currently an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.  A number of her short stories have been published in anthologies and her plays have been produced on college campuses and on the professional stage. Along with Joyce Carol Oates, Ntozake Shange and Rita Dove, Dr. McElroy’s short story appears in the acclaimed anthology From Daughters to Mothers: I’ve Always Meant to Tell you. She is the author of Black Journey and African Folktales Guide for Improved Listening and Learning Skills.

 

A master storyteller, Dr. McElroy has performed throughout the United States, Africa, Canada and the Caribbean.  As a Ford Foundation Fellow she gathered traditional African and Caribbean folktales.  She conducts storytelling workshops for teachers and students in public and private schools, and for managers and executives for Fortune 500 companies.  She is the founder and director of the “Back Home With the Folks Festival,” an annual folk art festival produced in Texas and Illinois.

 

Her one-woman performances include segments from her memoir, and portrayals of African-American women in the civil rights movement. Each performance reflects Dr. McElroy’s extensive travels, careful research and her enormous power and presence as communicator/performer. 

 

 

Dr. McElroy resides in Dallas and the Chicago area.

Renowned scholar, writer, performer, teacher and master storyteller

Dr. Njoki McElroy