THE GULLAH
GEECHEE PEOPLE
Gullah Storyteller and Historian Theresa Jenkins Hilliard Speaks on the Importance of Preserving Gullah Culture.
A part of the last generation to have direct contact with predominantly Gullah speaking individuals, South Carolina Gulla Geechee storyteller Theresa Jenkins Hilliard speaks of her personal firsthand account of growing up in a Gullah community.
Here, Hilliard recounts her upbringing on Edisto Island, the injustices faced by the enslaved Gullah Africans and their descendents, as well as the disappearance of the Gullah language and traditions, and the importance of African-Americans reconnecting with with their Gullah and African roots. All whilst flawlessly switching between Gullah and common English.
The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of West African enslaved people brought to the coasts of the Carolinas, Georgia, and northern Florida, whose geographic isolation helped them retain a distinct culture and language.
“We have to let our young people know about the struggle, we have to go all the way back to Africa where it all began so that they know whose back they’re standing on.” – Theresa Jenkins Hilliard
>via: http://dynamicafrica.tumblr.com/post/100672054783/gullah-storyteller-and-historian-theresa-jenkins
Thank you so very much for keeping our story alive. Many of my Aunts and Uncles would speak geechee growing up. They always had a special kind of spirit, and the food…oh my..I watched and learned and still will kill for some good peas and rice and gumbo.
When I started college at Howard University I ran into 2 sisters who are my best friends til this day. They were from SC and I was from NY, but we had so much in common and finally figured out why. Our joke is that I make the better shrimp and grits. LOL. I moved to the West Indies and everyone couldn’t understand how I could be so comfortable in the islands and pick up their dialect so easily, once again a homage to my ancestry. I later moved to Md and have another dear friend from Sierra Leone..and we too have so much in common, once we did the research we found out why. When we first met, he said I looked like a Sierra Leonian. A warmth came over me because now I know where I came from. I recently took a tour of Charleston, and I could actually hear and feel my ancestors presence.
I say this to say, our roots are so strong that even though the white man stripped us of everything and tried to dilute our blood with theirs, they did not strip us of our soul and our spirit of survival and family.
Again thank you..
P.S. My cousin is Julie Dash who wrote “Daughters of the Dust” another poignant film about our culture, you may know her. She and I only met when we were children.
God Bless..