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Margaret Rose, listened to her maternal family stories from her eldest sister, Edna Spencer. Spencer’s first five children were the same age as four of her sisters and one brother. During those precious moments when Edna was in the midst of a family gathering with her uncles (Melvin, Hampton, and Joe) and aunts—who were her peers, she would begin telling stories for hours from memory about her childhood, family and about life. Uncle Melvin would be so tickled, as he added his version of Edna’s stories. Margaret was always fascinated with the aura that surrounded this wonderful family event. As a young child, Margaret was inquisitive and loved learning new words. She would practice using them and learning to spell them. She was one of the best spellers in her elementary school class—she loved to talk.. Somehow Margaret was driven inside herself, and became an extreme introvert. Now, words penned on paper became her best friend. She was very quiet, deep thinking and contemplative. People began to label her as being “backwards.” Alas, her determination and all of the experiences, wisdom and professional training life presented allowed her to tunnel through a lot of darkness, leading her back to storytelling. Beginning in May of 1990, Margaret turned a life changing corner with the creation of The Order of NZingah Doll Collection.™ The dolls placed her in the both the local media and national media, national magazines and enabled her travels to international places like South Africa, London and Paris. When Margaret Rose finally got involved with Toastmasters, she evolved into a bright ray of light and inspiration to so many of those who were watching her. Her leadership and communication skills moved to a whole new level. After completing her Distinguished Toastmasters (DTM) certification, she enrolled in and completed the Jeff Justice Comedy Workshop. This exciting experience helped Margaret Rose to develop her stage presence. For the former introvert, appearing at Atlanta’s Punch Line Comedy Club was the most incredible thing she had done in a very long time. During this phase of her life, Margaret Rose realized she had become a “sampler” of life. Already a nurturer, she began seeking more new things to learn and share with others. Those things she likes, she learns more about. The things she does not like, Margaret simply marks them from her list. Storytelling was one of the Toastmasters advanced communication manuals that Margaret became so interested in.
Ms. Edinburgh enjoys reading, sewing, traveling, nurturing others and telling a variety of stories that entertain, encourage, and educate others. She uses realistic goals and strategies to reach the youth through real life experiences to assist and motivate their self-esteem, and to remind adults that our history is not lost, but our past experiences from the roots of our ancestors connect us to the present allowing us to spread our wings to soar into the future. A future of Hope and Change. Ms. Edinburgh has appeared in several public and private settings, senior citizen facilities, and conferences. She has won several comedy competitions as awards for her dolls. Memberships |
Margaret
R. Edi
A graduate of Indiana State University, Margaret has worked as an Administrative Professional
all of her adult life. She worked in a major corporation for more than 20 years in
Indiana and Georgia. She loves children and is very active in Atlanta’s Antioch Baptist
Church North. Her life experiences deeply arouse her passion to help women to become all
they can be—especially those women who are struggling to raise children without the
father of those children. Her first storytelling (2007) CD titled, “The Order
of NZingah Doll Collection: Women of Dignity,” introduces her audience to
her dolls and the journey of her mother, Charlieveen Edinburgh, who reared her six young
children alone when her husband, Henry Edinburgh, passed away unexpectedly. Her second
CD titled, “I
Done Tole Y’all,” is a humorously scripted walk over many paths women
have travelled.| ©2005-2010 KUUMBA STORYTELLERS |
