All Things Gullah ... Just in time for the Festival

The term "Gullah" or "Geechee" describes a unique group of African Americans descended from enslaved Africans who settled along the Atlantic coast, often on sea islands, between what is now Wilmington, NC to Jacksonville, FL. Gullah is a broad culture embracing the political, social, economic, linguistic, and artistic life of native African-American Sea Islanders.

The Gullah people have made (and continue to make) a lasting impact on this area's local culture and history.  Therefore, the Beaufort District Collection is home to an extensive Gullah/Geechee historical collection of books, manuscripts, pamphlets, vertical files, videos, and more! As Wilbur Cross noted in his book Gullah Culture in America (Praeger, 2008), Beaufort County Library "has one of the South's largest collections of materials on the Gullah language and the sea island culture." Here are just a few highlights to whet your appetite to learn more about Gullah/Geechee sea island culture:

305.8961 CAM Gullah Cultural Legacies by Emory Campbell

305.8961 CRO Gullah Culture in America by Wilbur Cross
398 JOH Folk Culture on St. Helena Island, South Carolina by Guy B. Johnson
427.9757 TUR Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect by Lorenzo Dow Turner
641.59757 ROB Cooking the Gullah Way: morning, noon, and night by Sallie Ann Robinson
641.59757 SEG My Gullah Kitchen by Eva Segar

975 POL The Gullah People and Their African Heritage by William S. Pollitzer
975.799 GOD God's Gonna Trouble the Water [DVD] by Teresa Bruce

Sweet Grass Baskets courtesy of Teri Norris

Don’t forget to view these Beaufort County History Moments segments about Gullah Culture presented by Emory Campbell, former Director of Penn Center and past chairman of the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, on YouTube: Gullah Language, Gullah Food, and Marsh Tackies.  (Beaufort County History Moments were a joint project of the Beaufort County Planning Department, Beaufort County Library, the County Channel, and Coastal Discovery Museum in 2011 - 2012.)

In addition to a vast array of book materials, we have some collections of newspaper and magazine clippings, culture reports, and other ephemeral materials in vertical files, among which are these:

Low Country Gullah Culture Special Resource Study
Festivals--Native Islander Gullah Celebration
Festivals--Gullah Festival
Gullah Culture, Pilot Study, 2000-2002. Ohio University, Southern Campus
Gullah Culture--Tours

Check out our list of links and materials on the topic of Gullah Culture in our Wordpress blog, too. 

The St. Helena Branch Library near Penn Center has a reference collection of Gullah/Geechee materials on site in addition to its BDC sponsored and managed local history section.

Several local organizations advocate and celebrate their Gullah roots. Additional information is available through Penn Center, the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition, and the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. And, of course, the 32nd annual Original Gullah Festival is being held May 25 - 27, 2018 at the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in downtown Beaufort. This year's theme is: "Come Home to a Celebration of Reconstruction ... The Untold Story."

Enjoy your holiday weekend! Please remember that all parts of the Beaufort County Library will be closed on Monday, May 28th in observance of Memorial Day. Regular hours resume on Tuesday, May 29th.