De Conch February 2016 Edition

De Conch

February 2016 Edition

Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) was one of 33 national leaders to be honored for excellence in their work to protect the east coast from seismic airgun use and drilling in the search for oil. Oceana held a special event on Capitol Hill in order to bring together these outstanding environmentalists along with actor activists to lobby the US government in regard to stopping the east coast oil exploration plans.

Congratulations Queen Quet!

Wha Gwine On een de Gullah/ Geechee Nation
 page 8

Gullah/Geechee Nation International Music & Movement Festival page 2

Coastal Voices Summit pages 3-5

Gullah/Geechee Angel Network Fundraiser
 page 9

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Ted Danson, Kate Walsh & Sam Waterston Join Coastal Leaders including Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation in Washington to Urge President Obama to Abandon Atlantic Drilling Ted Danson, Kate Walsh and Sam Waterston joined approximately 100 coastal leaders, hailing from Delaware to Florida, in Washington, D.C. including Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation to urge President Obama to abandon his plan to open the Atlantic Ocean to industrial offshore drilling for the first time in U.S. history. Oceana’s Coastal Voices Summit, which unites Atlantic leaders against offshore drilling and seismic airgun blasting and celebrates more than 100 East Coast municipalities standing up to Big Oil, comes as the Obama administration prepares to release its updated proposals for these activities in the coming weeks. To view photos from the event, please click here.

“Atlantic coastal towns have turned ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ into ‘Stop the Drill,’ and that rallying cry is getting louder along the East Coast,” said Jacqueline Savitz, Oceana’s vice president for the U.S. “These local elected officials and business leaders came to Washington to make their voices heard.

They’re here to tell President Obama – ‘our communities don’t want offshore drilling off our coast; take the Atlantic out of your drilling plans’.”

The main event, which took place Tuesday at the Jack Morton Auditorium on The George Washington University campus, was followed by a lobby day on Capitol Hill Wednesday, January 27, where Walsh and Atlantic leaders met with federal elected and appointed officials to stress the importance of protecting the East Coast from offshore drilling exploration and development.

“It has only been six years since the Gulf oil spill, and it seems as if our government has forgotten that it ever occurred,” said Kate Walsh, actress and ocean advocate.

“Everywhere we’ve drilled, we’ve spilled, and it’s time to stop this dirty and dangerous cycle before it starts in the Atlantic.

It’s time for President Obama to say no to East Coast drilling.”

Currently, the Obama administration is considering opening a large swath of the Atlantic to offshore drilling, spanning from Virginia to Georgia. At the same time, the federal government is considering the use of seismic airguns to search for oil and gas deposits deep below the ocean floor in an area twice the size of California, stretching all the way from Delaware to Florida.

Coastal opposition to these activities continues to mount. As of today, 102 East Coast municipalities, 100 Members of Congress, over 660 state and local elected officials and roughly 750 business interests have all publically opposed offshore drilling, citing threats to marine life, coastal communities and local economies. Along the Atlantic coast, nearly 1.4 million jobs and over $95 billion in gross domestic product rely on healthy ocean ecosystems, mainly through fishing, tourism and recreation.

Below are statements from just a few of the Atlantic leaders in attendance at the Summit: “Virginia’s tourism, lodging and restaurant industries are united against drilling off our state’s coast, and I’m in in Washington, DC to urge my elected officials to speak out against this dangerous proposal," said Laura Wood Habr, co-owner of Croc's 19th Street Bistro and vice president of the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association. "Tourism is Virginia Beach's biggest economic engine—it directly supported nearly 13,000 jobs in 2014, and restaurant sales have exceeded $1 billion for the past two years. It is short-sighted and ill-advised to put a proven, thriving industry at risk when the threats of offshore drilling far outweigh any potential jobs or economic gain.

The federal government will be making a decision in the next few weeks that will influence the fate of our industry for generations to come—my governor, senators and congressional representatives need to hear us, and speak out now."

"Offshore drilling is dirty and dangerous. The question is not whether there will be another spill, but when,” said Rep. Pricey Harrison, North Carolina General Assembly. “Governor McCrory seems to have forgotten all about the damage caused by the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster and all the spills that have happened since. I’m here to urge the Obama administration and my elected federal representatives to listen to all the North Carolinians who want to protect our coast from offshore drilling and seismic testing as well as the impacts of climate change. Thirty municipalities in our state have passed resolutions opposing these activities—it’s long past time that they are heard.”

“As a trained petroleum engineer and former ‘roustabout’ on offshore drilling rigs, I can tell you firsthand that working on the rigs is a risky job,” said Peg Howell, owner of Howell Consulting Group and spokesperson for Stop Offshore Drilling in the Atlantic (SODA), based in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. “Serious things happened out there, but I really did love my job. I’ve also seen firsthand what offshore drilling does to coastal communities, and I will tell you that it has no place along the Atlantic coast. This is a forever-decision. Just look to the Pacific—those oil and gas fields were drilled 50 years ago, and they are still causing damage to the California coastline, even though West Coast governors put a moratorium on new drilling over 30 years ago. We can’t let drilling in the Atlantic be our legacy.”

“Recently, we delivered a letter to Governor Nikki Haley that was signed by over 430 small business owners asking her to change her position and oppose offshore drilling,” said Frank Knapp, Jr., president and CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce.

“The small businesses of South Carolina understand that allowing offshore drilling in the Atlantic would be a disastrous business decision for states with economies dependent on coastal tourism. The hundreds of thousands of jobs dependent on a healthy tourism economy are thus dependent on a healthy ocean. No small business owner or CEO of a Fortune 500 company, other than the petroleum industry, would risk their successful business by starting an incompatible side business. Only foolish politicians would even think of doing such a thing.”

"The world needs to move away from a carbon-based economy and carbon-based fuels as quickly as possible,” said Hunter Miller, activist with the Environmental Youth Council in St. Augustine, Florida. “We shouldn't invest any more time or resources in developing new sources of oil that will further damage the oceans. Our way of life, and the life of the planet, depends on us keeping carbon in the ground. Last year, 300 of us marched across the historic Bridge of Lions and called on Florida’s elected officials to say NO to seismic blasting and offshore drilling in the Atlantic. Today, I’m in Washington, DC to say the same thing to President Obama and to our leaders on Capitol Hill."

“As a Navy Sonar Specialist, we used whales and dolphins to understand how sound propagates underwater,” said Johnny Miller, mayor of Fernandina Beach, Florida. “Sound is everything to them. Their environment is already saturated with noise from ship propellers and civilian and military sonar. I know this because I've heard it. To consider further impacting this already severely altered environment in search of oil is not only ethically wrong, it's an embarrassment to us as a species. It is our duty as stewards of these coastal areas to take a stand to protect these amazing creatures.”

"Offshore drilling along the Gullah/Geechee Coast would not only open up our sea life to potential harm, but would risk cultural heritage treasures and the fisheries of the Gullah/Geechee Nation,” said Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation. “The coastal region from Jacksonville, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida is a national heritage area, and this congressionally provided designation should be taken into consideration by all federal divisions.

Why vote to nationally protect a cultural community and its tangible and intangible resources but support an effort that can potentially bring irreversible harm to the environment, from which this rich community and culture have grown and been sustained since the 1600s?"

To watch Oceana’s short video about the growing opposition to Atlantic drilling, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfugAV7BWoE. For more information, please visit www.StopTheDrill.org. http://gullahgeecheenation.com/2016/01/27/gullahgeechee-leaders-join-activist-actors-oncapitol-hill/

Gullah/Geechee Fishing Association Holdin pun de Fishin Tradition!

The Gullah/Geechee Fishing Association (www.gullahgeecheefishing.net) was founded in Beaufort County, SC on March 25, 2010 by Queen Quet, Ricky Wright, the late Herbert Simmons, Joseph Bradley, and Keith Ellis who are all natives of St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation. These founding members were quickly joined by Gullah/Geechee fishermen and women from other parts of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida in the mission to 1) To advocate for the rights of Gullah/Geechee and African American fishermen and fishery workers of the southeast 2) To share traditional fishing methods with the next generation 3) To restore access to the areas and factories needed to sustain the seafood industry in the Gullah/Geechee Nation and southeastern United States The Gullah/Geechee Fishing Association members have actively worked with numerous national and international organizations during their five years in existence. Their work has been featured in profiles done by the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, and CNN International to name a few.

During even numbered years, the Gullah/Geechee Fishing Association members host, the "Gullah/Geechee Seafood Festival" on St. Helena or Hunting Islands. They will return to Hunting Island on October 22nd. Throughout each year, they have community celebrations to engage more Gullah/Geechee fishing families in their efforts. The first such engagement for 2016 will be part of the “Coastal Cultures Conference” which will be held at the St. Helena Branch Library for the first time in April. They will also host a series of "Gullah/Geechee Famlee Days later in the year. For more information, call (843) 838-1171 or email GullGeeCo@aol.com.

De Gullah/Geechee say,

"De wata bring we and de wata gwine tek we bak!”

Tune in to the Gullah/Geechee TV coverage of the premiere of “Wilmington on Fire:� http://gullahgeecheenation.com/2016/01/31/ wilmington-on-fire-burns-the-truth-into-theminds-of-many/

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March 1, 2016 at 6:00 pm

FREE Screening & Dialogue with the Filmmaker, Christopher Everett at

St. Helena Branch Library

St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation

This screening is part of the “Gullah/Geechee Living History Series” sponsored by the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition (www.GullahGeechee.net) in conjunction with the St. Helena Branch Library. The screening will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker, Christopher Everett, Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com), and independent researcher, Kent Chatfield.

Reserve your seats for the evening by emailing GullGeeCo@aol.com.

http://www.facebook.com/wilmingtononfire • @wilmington1898

Wha Gwine On Every Monday at 7 pm EST Tune in to “Gullah/Geechee Riddim Radio!” Disya da we sho! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gullahgeechee ******* The Big Read in Beaufort County, SC (www.beaufortcountylibrary.org) will have us turning the pages of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston. Join us!

FEBRUARY-Black History/African Heritage Month

February 10 at 6 pm-St. Helena Branch Library, St. Helena Island, SC Gullah/Geechee Nation Queen Quet presents “E Eye Bin Pun GAWD: De Gullah/Geechee Ooman een de Great Depression” (www.QueenQuet.com). This will be the opening event for “De Gullah/Geechee Living Story Series” at the library which is sponsored by the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition in conjunction with their partner, the Beaufort County Library.

843-255-6486 for information. The event is FREE.

Email GullGeeCo@aol.com or call

Savannah Black Heritage Festival-“Reflections of a Proud Legacy www.savannahblackheritagefestival.com Sunday, February 21 from 5-7 pm Gullah/Geechee Angel Network Fundraiser!

"The Third Industrial Revolution Design, Art, Entertainment, and Empowerment" The Pointe Event Center https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-third-industrial-revolution-design-art-entertainment-and-empowerment-tickets-20971407043?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utmcontent=attendeeshare&aff=esfb&utm-source=fb&utm-term=listing MARCH-Women’s Herstory Month & Gullah/Geechee Volunteer Month Gullah/Geechee Volunteer Month is hosted and coordinated by the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition (www.gullahgeechee.net) every March. Volunteers take De Gullah Root Experience Tour (www.gullahgeechee.us) as part of their orientation to Gullah/Geechee history, heritage, and culture before proceeding to do numerous community service learning and transformational learning activities. Individuals as well as college groups from across the world and civic organizations of various ages participate in assisting with the varying array of activities to assist with the continuation of Gullah/Geechee culture and traditions and the preservation of historic institutions and the Sea Island environment. To sign up to participate, email GullGeeCo@aol.com for details.

March 5 Noon to 3 pm-Tech Up, Step Up

Universal African Peoples Organization 1418 Remount Road N. Charleston, SC, Gullah/Geechee Nation

The Gullah/Geechee Angel Network (www.gullahgeecheeangelnetwork.com) will continue its’ “Tech Up, Step Up” intergenerational interactive sessions in Charleston, SC.

Queen Quet

(www.QueenQuet.com), Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation will present for this special session.

Queen Quet is a computer scientist and mathematician as well as a Gullah/Geechee traditionalist.

For more details email GullGeeCo@aol.com or call (843) 572-6788.

March 11 & 12-Sam Doyles Folk Art Festival at Penn Center on St. Helena Island, SC, Gullah/Geechee Nation www.penncenter.com

De Gullah Root Experience Tour will be conducted numerous times during March. Bring hunnuh group or famlee and jayn we! www.gullahgeechee.us or www.gullahgeechee.net APRIL April 1-3 Tunis Campbell Celebration in Brunswick, GA April 12 at Noon History Above Water Conference in Newport, RI Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) presents an interactive workshop on successfully community engagement. www.historyabovewater.org April 16 Noon to 4 pm FREE Cancer Education Guide (CEG) Facilitator Training Course St. Helena Branch Library, St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation The Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition, Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) and the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center offer a FREE training course for Gullah/ Geechee community members that would like to facilitate with cancer education and prevention. Lunch will be provided. Advance registration is required, email GullGeeCo@aol.com or call (843) 838-1171.

April 29 & 30-Coastal Cultures Conference St. Helena Branch Library, St. Helena Island, SC Gullah/Geechee Nation The Coastal Cultures Conference is sponsored annually by the “Gullah/Geechee Sustainability Think Tank� and the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition (www.gullahgeechee.net). This year, they are being joined by the US Fish & Wildlife Service in hosting this two day series of interactive activities celebrating the continuation of Gullah/Geechee culture. For the first time, the event will be held at the landmark St. Helena Branch Library and will have a series of youth focused activities on Friday along with numerous authors that will do book signings at the branch throughout the weekend. On Saturday, the workshops and lectures will be geared toward the adults.

Email GullGeeCo@aol.com for registration information.

MAY Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition Member Gathering and Fundraiser in New York City www.gullahgeechee.net

Hep Mo Angel fa Fly! Support De Gullah/Geechee Angel Network!

The mission of the official 501(c)3, non-profit of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, the Gullah/Geechee Angel Network is To preserve, protect and promote the cultural heritage of the Gullah Geechee People who have lived in the southeastern portion of the United States of America from North Carolina to Jacksonville Florida 30 miles inland (known as the "Low Country") for over 300 years. To connect all people, not just in the 50 states, but internationally throughout the Diaspora, Europe, Caribbean and Africa.

Goals and Objectives are achieved by the implementation of the following seven (7) point program: The Performing Arts: Musical plays, dramatizations, poetry, storytelling, enactments and workshops Arts and Crafts: Workshops in the production and displaying of traditional Gullah/Geechee cultural items.

Demonstrative workshops that encourage the development of functional skills and forms of expression to potentially showcase and stimulate direct participation in the growing ethnic tourism industry, festivals and cultural events.

Educational: The establishment of Cultural Learning Centers designed to foster motivation, achievement and cultural enrichment. Historical/Research excursions from the tip of North Carolina (Cape Fear) to the outlining areas of Jacksonville, Florida.

Scholarships and Awards: Lifetime Achievement Award programs and events recognizing those persons who have given selflessly of themselves, and have done considerable work for the benefits of their particular community as it relates to cultural preservation. Awarding Scholarships to youth who exhibit talent, and are oriented toward developing skills which foster Gullah/Geechee Culture.

The Internet and The Media: Networking with organizations, institutions and groups which focus on Gullah/ Geechee Culture. Consistently present positive role models and activities to the low country in particular, and to in the Diaspora in general.

Production, Preservation and Documentation: Production and archiving of Gullah/Geechee video and audio recordings, books, symbols and banners. Radio, television and computer production programming.

Health and Nutrition Awareness: Forums and symposiums which explore lifestyles, food staples, food cultivation and preparation of Gullah/Geechee cuisine, as well as developing holistic programs to promote well being.

Yenna House widout a doubt!

The Gullah/Geechee International Camp Meeting Center & Yenna House will host a number of activities and people from around the world and educate people on the living traditions of that exist throughout the Gullah/ Geechee Nation. The next major fundraiser for the project will be the Gullah/Geechee Nation International Music & Movement Festival™ www.gullahgeechee.info. Restoration begins on Yenna House during “Gullah/Geechee Volunteer Month in March.

For more details on fundraisers, tours, assisting with the project, or contributing, call (843) 572-6788 or go to www.gullahgeecheeangelnetwork.com

Links to Gullah/Geechee Living Culture

1.

Gullah/Geechee Nation Headquarters www.officialgullahgeechee.info or www.gullahgeecheenation.com

2.

Gullah/Geechee Nation on Instagram http://instagram.com/gullahgeechee

3.

Gullah/Geechee Angel Network www.gullahgeecheeangelnetwork.com

4.

Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition www.gullahgeechee.net

5.

Gullah/Geechee TV™ (GGTV) www.youtube.om/AMPTurnItUp

6.

Gullah/Geechee Riddim Radio http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gullahgeechee

7.

Gullah/Geechee Fishing Association www.gullahgeecheefishingassociation.com

8.

Gullah/Geechee Nation Facebook Fan Page https://www.facebook.com/GullahGeecheeWeBe/

9.

Gullah/Geechee Folks on Twitter www.twitter.com/gullahgeechee

10. Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee www.QueenQuet.com 11. Gullah/Geechee Nation International Music & Movement Festival™ www.gullahgeechee.info 12. Gullah/Geechee Doula Association http://www.gullahgeecheedoula.com/ 13. Gullah/Geechee Nation on Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/gullahgeechee/

Tenki Tenki Florence School District 1 fa lunin de chillun bout de Gullah/Geechee storee! www.gullahgeechee.net • GullGeeCo@aol.com www.QueenQuet.com

GULLAH/GEECHEE GOLD SOULS CAMPAIGN

The Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition is the premiere organization on the protection and continuation of the Gullah/Geechee history, heritage, and culture. The Gullah/ Geechee Sea Island Coalition: •

advocates for the protection of the human and land rights of Gullah/Geechee

•

promotes and participates in the continuation of Gullah/Geechee history, heritage, culture, and language.

• •

works toward Sea Island land re-acquisition and maintenance. celebrates Gullah/Geechee culture through artistic and educational means electronically and via "grassroots scholarship."

The Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition has successfully carried out this mission since 1996. During which time, they developed the ONLY archive in the world which is TOTALLY dedicated to Gullah/Geechee history, heritage, and culture.

The Gullah/Geechee Alekbulan Archive is being upgraded in order to continue to provide access to artifacts, images, documents, books, films, and recordings to future generations of Gullah/Geechees and global researchers. The Coalition host hundreds of students and professional writers each year and it also supports native Gullah/ Geechee speakers and presenters traveling to other parts of the world to make sure that accurate presentations on our culture are done in a varied array of venues.

We are calling on all supporters of the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition to become dues paying members and to contribute to the “Gullah/Geechee Gold Souls Campaign.”

The funds will assist with the completion of the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition Center. Please use the form at the end of this ezine or go to http://fnd.us/c/07Wl6 in order to financially contribute to the fundraising efforts that are currently under way in order to finalize the second phase of archival digitization and artifact preservation.

The “wish list:” • New Apple Mac Pro Desktop or Laptop Computer • 10 Mac Compatible 2T and higher External Drives • Acid free archival boxes of all sizes and types • Apple server• 2 poster holders• 12 File cabinets

For details on how you can host a fundraising event, contribute in any or in all of these ways, please email GullGeeCo@aol.com.

Disya bout geeing frum de soul fa mek sho de richness stay een wi black gold!

Join the GULLAH/GEECHEE SEA ISLAND COALITION www.gullahgeechee.net I am enclosing my check for _____ $45 for the year of membership _____ $300-999 supporter (Pledge amount can be sent in monthly installments)

Mail this to Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition Post Office Box 1207 St. Helena Island SC 29920 Name: _________________________

_____ $1200 for lifetime membership

What island are you closely connected to? ________________________________ How?(Circle one) Family

Business

E-mail address: ________________________________

Address: _____ $___________ toward the Gullah/ Geechee Gold Souls Campaign My check is written to the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition.

I know that I will receive a newsletter, event announcements, and will be a subscriber to the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Roots Listserve and will also receive discounts on Gullah/Geechee products.

______________________________

Where did you receive this? ________________________________

______________________________

What would you like to see done by this organization?

Telephone:

___________________ (Day)

_______________________________ (Eve or Cell)

GULLAH/GEECHEE SEA ISLAND COALITION Post Office Box 1207 St. Helena Island SC 29920

© February 2016 Gullah/Geechee Nation © February 2016 Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition ALL rights for photographs and articles are reserved.

Republishing should not be done without consent from the Gullah/Geechee Nation.