De Conch January/February 2017 Edition

De Conch

January/February 2017 Edition

Happy 20th Anniversary to the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition!

The Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition will celebrate its 20 years and the International Decade of People of African Descent with #GullahGeechee2020. This series of events will take place throughout the Gullah/Geechee Nation.

Cum fa jayn we pun de islands fa #GullahGeechee2020!

Wha Gwine On een de Gullah/ Geechee Nation
 page 8-14

Black Folks Land Legacy Conference page 10

Gittin Ready fa de Gullah/Geechee Family Reunion page 11

Coastal Cultures Conference page 15

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Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition Celebrates 20 Years with #GullahGeechee2020 The Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition (www.gullahgeechee.net) was started in 1996 by St. Helena Island native, Queen Quet Marquetta L. Goodwine (www.QueenQuet.com). The initial launch event on December 21st of that year took place at the “Spiritual Rhythms Gallery” of Gullah/Geechee native artist, Leroy Campbell in Brooklyn, NY. One year later, the national organization that has since grown to have international supporters and members as well, opened the “Hunnuh Home: Gullah/Geechee Research Center” on historic St. Helena Island, SC. They have operated from that base since then and expanded to having the “Hunnuh Home: Gullah/Geechee Alkebulan Archive and Cultural Heritage Center.” They host thousands of visitors and volunteers annually.

To celebrate 20 years at the premiere advocacy organization for Gullah/Geechee people worldwide, the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition will host twenty different events as a part of #GullahGeechee2020. These events will also be part of their continued celebration and commemoration of the International Decade of People of African Descent. #GullahGeechee2020 kicks off with these events: • Gullah/Geechee Knows Emanuel • Black Folks Land Legacy Conference • Gittin Ready fa de Gullah/Geechee Family Reunion: An Interactive Family Collections Digitization and Protection Workshop • Coastal Cultures Conference: Sustaining Cultural Heritage as the Climate Changes • Gullah/Geechee Nation International Music & Movement Festival™: Fa We Ancestas In addition to these events that require advance registration, “Gullah/Geechee Volunteer Month” will still be held in March. Groups that are interested in contributing their time and expertise to assisting with work on the ground in the Gullah/Geechee Nation and would like to have transformational community service learning opportunities can email GullGeeCo@aol.com.

Also, Gullah/Geechee Nation Appreciation Week will take place from July 29-August 6, 2017. The week is celebrated throughout the entire Gullah/Geechee Nation. It will culminate on historic St. Helena Island, SC this year at the “Gullah/Geechee Nation International Music & Movement Festival™.” The event is themed “Fa We Ancestas” and will include a massive African Diaspora circle of reunion at the Atlantic Ocean as part of the opening ancestral ceremony. “Gullah/Geechee Reunion Day” at the St. Helena Branch Library will also be an opportunity to reunite the Gullah/Geechee Diaspora.

Queen Quet & De Gullah Cunneckshun will be a part of numerous festivals and national and international presentations as they conclude the third year of the “Gullah/Geechee Land & Legacy World Tour.” This tours is raising awareness about the existence of Gullah/Geechee culture and the Gullah/Geechee Nation and is raising funds for the “Gullah/Geechee Land & Legacy Fund:” https://www.gofundme.com/gullahgeechee-land-legacy-fund Stops on the tour will include the midwest and west coast. Those interested in hosting a fundraiser and awareness event in their cities and countries can go to www.QueenQuet.com for booking details and to submit inquiries. These events will be part of the #GullahGeechee2020 roster as well.

Additional events will be posted each quarter to the Gullah/Geechee Nation Facebook Fan page, EventBrite, and on www.gullahgeecheenation.com. Folks can also keep up with the activities by following @GullahGeechee on Instagram, Twitter, and Periscope.

Bring de famlee and cum fa jayn we fa #GullahGeechee2020!

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 • File Cabinets • 10 Mac Compatible 2T and higher External Drives • Acid free archival boxes and poster covers of all sizes • Library shelves with doors

• Apple server • 1 poster holder

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!

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/

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.

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

Saturday, February 4, 2017 at 7 pm The Pointe Center in North Charleston, SC Git hunnuh ticket ya and jay de famlee! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gullahgeecheeknows-emanuel-tickets-30507251009 7

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 ******* FEBRUARY-Black History/African Heritage Month February 1 at 11am Lecture with Filmmaker Christopher Everett 6 pm- Film: Wilmington on Fire

at the UNCW’s Lumina Theater in Wilmington, NC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation "Wilmington on Fire' is a new feature-length documentary that chronicles The Wilmington Massacre of 1898. The Wilmington Massacre of 1898 was a bloody attack on the African-American community by a heavily armed white mob with the support of the North Carolina Democratic Party on November 10, 1898 in the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina. It is considered one of the only successful examples of a violent overthrow of an existing government and left countless numbers of African-Americans dead and exiled from the city. This event was the spring board for the White Supremacy movement and Jim Crow segregation throughout the state of North Carolina and the American South.

February 2 at 6 pm-Jeopardy! The Gullah/Geechee Edition at the Hargray Building in Hardeeville, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation

February 4 at 7 pm Gullah/Geechee Knows Emanuel

at the Pointe Event Center in North Charleston, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation “Gullah/Geechee Knows Emanuel: A Gullah/Geechee Story” will take the audience on a journey through the Gullah/Geechee memories of the history of Emmanuel in Charleston, SC from the founding of Emanuel AME by Denmark Vesey and Gullah Jack to the tragic slaying of nine members of Emanuel AME in 2015. The history and legacy of the unity of the Gullah/Geechee family emerges in this dramatic presentation that retells the memories of Gullah/Geechees that have had to survive from chattel enslavement and make it to the human rights movement era. In the midst of it all, they know that GOD has kept them being able to keep their traditions and sustain their legacy. So, they come together to continue to hold one another up and educate their children on how to thrive and survive in faith as they remember Emmanuel.

For tickets go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gullahgeechee-knows-emanuel-tickets-30507251009 For more information email GullGeeCo@aol.com or call (843) 735-2189 or gwine ta https://gullahgeecheenation.com/2016/12/26/gullahgeechee-knows-emanuel-premieres-for-black-history-month/

February 6 at Noon-Queen Quet presents “Gullah/Geechee: Africa’s Seeds in the Winds of the Diaspora” at the University of South Carolina Beaufort Performing Arts Center Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) is an award winning author. She has released five volumes of a thirty volume history series entitled “Gullah/Geechee: Africa’s Seed in the Winds of the Diaspora.” She will present from this series for “Books Sandwiched In” at the University of South Carolina-Beaufort Center for the Arts on Monday, February 6, 2017 at from Noon to 1 pm. The histo-musical presentation will be followed by a book signing. The event which is sponsored by the Friends of Beaufort County Library is FREE and open to all. Cum fa yeddi bout who webe een de nayshun ob de Gullah/Geechee!

For more information email GullGeeCo@aol.com or gwine ta https://gullahgeecheenation.com/ 2017/01/18/queen-quet-presents-gullahgeechee-africas-seed-in-the-winds-of-the-diaspora/ February 16 at 11am and 6:30 pm- Wilmington on Fire

at Savannah State University and Mary Clay Torian Auditorium respectively in Savannah, GA in the Gullah/Geechee Nation

"Wilmington on Fire' is a new feature-length documentary that chronicles The Wilmington Massacre of 1898. The Wilmington Massacre of 1898 was a bloody attack on the African-American community by a heavily armed white mob with the support of the North Carolina Democratic Party on November 10, 1898 in the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina. It is considered one of the only successful examples of a violent overthrow of an existing government and left countless numbers of African-Americans dead and exiled from the city. This event was the spring board for the White Supremacy movement and Jim Crow segregation throughout the state of North Carolina and the American South.

www.savannahblackheritagefestival.com

“Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.”

•Dr. Carter G. Woodson

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 4 & 18 from 10 am to 3 pm-St. Helena Community Market at the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Park on St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation March 10 & 11-Inaugural Black Folks Land Legacy Conference on St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation The “Black Folks Land Legacy Conference” is an interactive three day session on historic St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation which is a predominately Gullah/Geechee owned and operated Sea Island. This was the place in which the “Port Royal Experiment” was staged and where the Freedmen’s Bureau set up to do land auctions during the United States Civil War. This was the staging ground for what many scholars say was never completed-the Reconstruction Era. St. Helena Islanders have owned their property which some would call part of “Sherman’s Reservation” based on Special Field Order Number 15 since the 1860s while the Civil War raged on. As a result, many believe that Gullah/Geeches received their “40 acres and a mule.” This conference will dispel the myths of “40 acres and a mule” and tell the story of Black land ownership, self-sufficiency, and subsistence which has led to a consistent battle to protect Black landownership not only within the Gullah/Geechee Nation, but throughout the Black belt/Bible belt south and further points of not only the Gullah/Geechee Diaspora, but the African Diaspora. The on-slaught of land grabs and displacement have been happening using a myriad of tactics. Presenters will address the tools that are being successfully used to fight back and retain, maintain, and reclaim lands that Black people have toiled for generations.

For more information go to https://gullahgeecheenation.com/2016/12/28/black-folks-land-legacy-conference-inthe-gullahgeechee-nation/ or email GullGeeCo@aol.com. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-folks-land-legacy-conference-2017-tickets-30523435417

March 25-Gittin Ready fa de Gullah/Geechee Family Reunion: An Interactive Family Collections Digitization Workshop at St. Helena Branch Library on St. Helena Island, SC This interactive workshop is FREE due to sponsorship by the SC Humanities Council. However, advance registration and a commitment to the entire day is required. To register go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gittin-ready-fa-de-gullahgeechee-family-reunion-an-interactive-family-collections-workshop-tickets-30575561327?aff=es2

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 & 2 Tunis Campbell Celebration in Brunswick, GA Email GullGeeCo@aol.com for details.

April 1 & 15 from 10 am to 3 pm-St. Helena Community Market at the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Park on St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation April 22 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).

Email GullGeeCo@aol.com or go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/coastal-cultures-conference-2017-sustaining-cultural-heritage-as-the-climate-changes-tickets-30574381799 for registration information.

MAY May 6 & 20 from 10 am to 3 pm-St. Helena Community Market at the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Park on St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition Member Gathering and Fundraiser in New York City www.gullahgeechee.net Gullah Festival at the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in Beaufort, SC, Gullah/Geechee Nation www.theoriginalgullahfestival.org

JUNE-Black Music Month June 3 & 17 from 10 am to 3 pm-St. Helena Community Market at the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Park on St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation JULY July 1 & 15 from 10 am to 3 pm-St. Helena Community Market at the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Park on St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation Gullah/Geechee Nation Appreciation Week AUGUST August 4-6 Gullah/Geechee Nation International Music & Movement Festival on St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation www.gullahgeechee.info August 5 & 19 from 10 am to 3 pm-St. Helena Community Market at the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Park on St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation SEPTEMBER September 1 & 2 Lands End Woodlands River Festival on St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation September 2 & 16 from 10 am to 3 pm-St. Helena Community Market at the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Park on St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation September 4-Wadamalaw Island Labor Day Parade and Penn Center Labor Day Celebration on St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation Moja Arts Celebration www.mojafestival.com OCTOBER October 21 & 22 Gullah/Geechee Unity in the Community in Savannah, GA Fa mo updates and ting bout wha gwine on falla www.gullahgeecheenation.com or @GullahGeechee.

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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 Island. Throughout each year, they have community celebrations to engage more Gullah/Geechee fishing families in their efforts. The first such engagement for 2017 will be part of the “Coastal Cultures Conference” which will be held at the St. Helena Branch Library on Saturday, April 22nd. They will also co-host a series of "Gullah/Geechee Famlee Days later in the year. For more information, call (843) 838-1171 or email GullGeeCo@aol.com or casting@gullahgeecheefishing.net.

De Gullah/Geechee say,

"De wata bring we and de wata gwine tek we bak!” www.gullahgeecheefishing.net

The Gullah/Geechee Sustainability Think Tank began five years ago. This group that consists of Gullah/Geechee leaders, academics, and scientists who continue to focus on sustaining cultural heritage and improving the quality of life and human health for Gullah/Geechees. They are engaged in a number of studies and community engagements including many that are focused on environmental issues. Annually they present information regarding their work during the “Coastal Cultures Conference.�

Email GullGeeCo@aol.com for more details on presentations and engagement sessions.

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Queen Quet & De Gullah Cunneckshun CDs are available on iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon music & more around the world!

Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) and her Gullah/Geechee histo-musical performance troupe, De Gullah Cunneckshun are not only making their way around the world in person, they are also doing this via digital downloads! CDs can be purchased at www.gullahgeechee.biz and the CDs are now available on numerous digital music sale sites around the world. Ef hunnuh wan yeddi, gwine ta disya pun CD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/QueenQuetDeGullahCunneckshun

Disya da Gullah Roots Productions™ 18

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

© January 2017 Gullah/Geechee Nation © January 2017 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.