Gullah Culture Today

Gullah Culture Today

Development and moving on: the land conflict

For any nation, land ownership is an essential piece of identity. In the case of the Gullah, this goes far beyond, since land seems to be an extension of the being, the key part of who

One of the many resorts that have been
popping up in Hilton Head

Gullah are. By the mid-20th century, ferries, roads, and bridges connected the Sea Islands to mainland United States. Rice was also grown in other states, reducing the rice output from the Sea Islands. Many Gullah had to change their way of earning a living. Resorts have been built in the Sea Islands. Many real estate companies arrived in the Islands anxious to buy land at low prices and build hotels and holiday resorts. Many Gullah families have lost their traditional lands and, in fact, the land issue may be the largest threat the community now faces. (Cross, 2009)

To ease the situation, the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition was created by Marquetta L. Goodwine, Queen of the Gullah/Geechee nation. This coalition has served to safeguard land rights for Gullah owners and helped many to protect their very lands. 

Queen Quet, Chieftess and Art-ivist of the Gullah/Geechee Nation

However, some Gullah now work in the tourism industry. Many have left the islands for higher education and employment opportunities. One of them is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas spoke Gullah as a child, as we saw in the previous section.

Gullha’s both past and present have an intriguing culture that they deeply love and want to preserve. In doing so, they have proven the resilience of their roots: two decades ago, Gullah was believed to be condemned to disappear… today it’s a thriving language and culture with a 100% L2 learning rate (Ethnologue). This is, in part, thanks to the many scholars (such as Lorenzo Dow Turner or Emory Campbell) who have helped to research the language, and many activists such as Queen Quet, who have addressed contemporary struggles and created a sense of union.

Even today, there are many ways in which Gullahs maintain their heritage: their okra soup that is very much similar to that of Africa, their sweet grass baskets, quilts, etc. There are many museums and institutions that contain information about Gullah culture and the dark past of slavery in the area. You can find some further information in the “further reading” section.

This video is a very interesting summary of many of the things we've seen. Try answering these questions: 

• What is the only Sea Island left where Gullah/Geechee Culture is still predominant?
• What kind of measures prevent damage to the Gullah/Geechee culture?
• What doesn't happen in Hilton Head? Why?
• What two things do people first think about St. Helena island? What did they come to the area before?
• What is affecting people's health? Do you think this is a metaphor or a real consequence? 
• What's a "ring shout"? How is it done? What's the different from a "ring play"?

More on the Gullah culture and introducing language

Lorenzo Dow Turner

Linguist Lorenzo Dow Turner researched and documented spoken words on the coast during the 1930s, traced similarities to ethnic groups in West Africa, then published the Gullah dialect lexicon, Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect (1949). His research confirms the evolution of a new language based on West African influences and English. Many words in the coastal culture could be matched to ethnic groups in West Africa, thereby linking the Geechee/Gullah people to their origins. Margaret Washington Creel in A Peculiar People: Slave Religion and Community-Culture among the Gullahs (1988) identifies cultural and spiritual habits that relate to similar ethnic groups of West Africans who are linked by language. Her research on the coastal culture complements Turner's findings that Africans on the Sea Islands created a new identity despite the tragic conditions of slavery.

The 1988 movie The Language You Cry In uses a ancient African song that was preserved by a Gullah family in Georgia as the story around which to narrate the “Homecoming” visit Gullah people did to Sierra Leone. You can watch the entire documentary here.

There are also plenty of documentaries and short clips available in YouTube and Vimeo. 

Furthermore, do not hesitate to contact Penn Center or Queen Quet if you want more information or to schedule some of the many tours they organise around St. Helena. 

Final word and glocalising your mind

The story of the Gullahs is very important to African-American geography and history. It's interesting that a separate language is spoken off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. The Gullah culture will undoubtedly survive. Even in the modern world, the Gullah are an authentic, unified group of people that deeply respect their ancestors' values of independence and diligence. 

Throughout this course, we've been talking about very many different issues. Now you should have a general perspective that would allow you to approach any more formal text about Gullah language and culture. Congratulations!