De Conch March 2016 Edition

De Conch

March 2016 Edition

E da Gullah/Geechee Nation Volunteer Month and Ooman Month!!

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GAWD bless up all de Gullah/Geechee Ooman disya month! !

We support “Women’s Herstory Month.”!

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March also da “Gullah/Geechee Nation Volunteer Month.” Tenki tenki ta all de supporters and Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition members wha cumin fa hep we! !

If you would like to bring your group to be part of the numerous volunteer projects underway, please email GullGeeCo@aol.com!

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Peace and blessings,! !

De Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition

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Wha Gwine On een de Gullah/ Geechee Nation page 6-9

Gullah/Geechee Alkebulan Archive

Uniform Heirs Property Petition Law

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page 5

WEBE Gullah/ Geechee Series! page 5

Support De Gullah/Geechee Alekbulan Archive!

Please donate more archival supplies and time!

Email GullGeeCo@aol.com

Links to Gullah/Geechee Living Culture

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

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

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Gullah/Geechee Angel Network www.gullahgeecheeangelnetwork.com

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Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition www.gullahgeechee.net

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

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

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Gullah/Geechee Fishing Association www.gullahgeecheefishingassociation.com

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

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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/

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Gullah/Geechee INDIGO Project!

The Gullah/Geechee Inspiring Natural Design in Gullah/Geechee Outdoors (INDIGO)™ Project will be an intergenerational art project based on historic St. Helena Island in the Gullah/Geechee Nation. The Gullah/Geechee have a historic connection with Sea Island cotton and indigo both through the hardships of chattel enslavement and the richness, warmth, and protection from them as textiles and quilts were created by Gullah/Geechee women over the generations. Just as indigo adorns many Gullah/Geechee doorways, the textiles and designs that will emerge from this project will adorn those that wear each piece as they enter the Gullah/Geechee Nation and exit taking with them a product that will assist in continuing the living legacy-Gullah/Geechee.!

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Funds from the Gullah/Geechee INDIGO Project will go to the Gullah/Geechee Angel Network (www.gullahgeecheeangelnetwork.com) which is the official 501(c)3 of the Gullah/Geechee Nation and the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition (www.gullahgeechee.net) which this entity works with to engage in community education and empowerment efforts.!

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A series of creative workshops based on the Sea Island environment and Gullah/Geechee traditions will be held led by Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) and artist-in-residence Monique de la Tour. Products from these workshops will become part of the St. Helena Gullah/Geechee Collection of the landmark St. Helena Branch Library.!

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Email GullGeeCo@aol.com to provide financial support for the project. Tenki Tenki!!

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WEBE Gullah/Geechee Series

The Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition has released a new series for social media and Gullah/Geechee TV called the “WEBE Gullah/Geechee Series.� These short videos provide education on the history of the Gullah/Geechee Nation: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu8HeCpERTllvBLRa0mO998oODof2BuLl

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Tune een fa yeddi who webe!

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Holdin Pun de Land: Heirs Property Uniform Partition Act

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Tune in to another Gullah/Geechee Riddim Radio episode focused on heirs property http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gullahgeechee to learn about the Allen Family which formed the 4 Dennis Movement and started a petition to support the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/815/863/737/.

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The Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act has already passed in several states including Georgia here in the Gullah/Geechee Nation. It was taken to the floor of the South Carolina General Assembly last year and got a majority vote of support in the house. The senate has made some technical changes including to rename the bill for the Honorable Late Senator and Pastor Clementa Pinckney. This now has the bill going back across the hall before it will be voted on and passed in SC.

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Gullah/Geechee Riddim Radio had the honor of having Professor of Law Thomas W. Mitchell who was the reporter (principal drafter) of the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act which was promulgated by the Uniform Law Commission in 2010 to be on the broadcast along with Allen Family members. Learn more here:

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http://gullahgeecheenation.com/2016/03/17/holdin-pun-gullahgeechee-land-heirsproperty-uniform-partition-act/

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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

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******* 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.

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March 5-Tech Up, Step Up in 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.

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

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De Gullah Root Experience Tour will be conducted numerous times during March-May. Bring hunnuh group or famlee and jayn we! www.gullahgeechee.us or www.gullahgeechee.net

"A massacre kept secret for over 100 years. Now the truth will finally be revealed."

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Speller Street Films will host a public screening of “Wilmington on Fire,” a documentary about the 1898 massacre at 7pm on March 29th at Paramount Theatre, 139 South Center Street, Goldsboro, NC 27530.

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Following the screening, the director and cast members will share their experiences on making the film and bring a unique perspective on the 1898 massacre and its impact today.

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The Wilmington Massacre 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 coup d'état in the United States that left countless numbers of African-American citizens 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.

“Wilmington on Fire” gives a compelling historical and present day look at this event showing how the violent overthrow of an existing government not only cemented white supremacy in the city of Wilmington and the state of North Carolina but also throughout the United States of America.

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Purchase tickets at the Box office at (919) 583-8432 or at

! http://www.goldsboroparamount.com/wilmington-on-fire/

! https://www.facebook.com/events/520391921466767/

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

APRIL

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April 1-3 Tunis Campbell Celebration in Brunswick, GA

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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

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April 16 Cancer Education Guide Facilitator Training at St. Helena Branch Library, St. Helena Island, SC, Gullah/Geechee Nation This FREE training is being offered by the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition and the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. Pre-registration is required.

Email GullGeeCo@aol.com for a registration form.

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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 or go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/coastal-cultures-conference-2016gwine-ta-de-wata-gullahgeechee-sea-island-sustainability-tickets-23352391632 for registration information.

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™

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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 !

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1) To advocate for the rights of Gullah/Geechee and African American fishermen and fishery workers of the southeast !

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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!

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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 on Saturday, April 30th. They will also host a series of "Gullah/Geechee Famlee Days throughout the year. For more information, call (843) 838-1171 or email GullGeeCo@aol.com. !

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De Gullah/Geechee say,! !

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

Support de Gullah/Geechee Fishin Famlee!

This painting was created after Monique de la Tour met with fishermen on St Helena Island and learned of the challenges they are facing affecting their traditional way of life. Over-fishing by large commercial trawlers and operations are depleting the area of marine life - negatively impacting Gullah/Geechee fishermen. This image came to her mind after hearing their story. Fishing has been a way of life for the Gullah/Geechee people for as long as they recall. They maintain strong cultural traditions, still making their fishing nets by hand as their ancestors do in West Africa.

!A portion of proceeds from the sale of this painting will go to the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island

Coalition. Learn more about the organization and the great work being done to ensure the Gullah/ Geechee people and their culture continues to thrive @ www.gullahgeechee.net. The artwork will be professionally packed and shipped, with insurance, and will come with a signed and dated Certificate of Authenticity. The buyer is required to sign an Artists Contract with Moral Rights attached (before art is shipped). (This means the buyer is not permitted to reproduce the image in whole or any part, physically or digitally, for financial gain. The contract also states the Artist retains the right to permit the use of a digital image of the artwork for Gullah/Geechee fundraising efforts.

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http://beautifulindifference.weebly.com/store/p5/The_St_Helena_Fishermen.html

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

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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

GULLAH/GEECHEE GOLD SOULS CAMPAIGN

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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

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

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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.

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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.

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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 • 1 poster holder • DVC/HI8/VHS to Digital Converters

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

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Mail this to !

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Name: ! _________________________!

I am enclosing my check for! _____ $45 for the year of membership! _____ $300-999 supporter (Pledge amount can be sent in monthly installments)! _____ $1200 for lifetime membership!

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What island are you closely connected to? ________________________________!

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How?(Circle one) ! ! !

Family Business!

Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition!

Post Office Box 1207!

St. Helena Island SC 29920!

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. !

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______________________________!

______________________________!

Telephone:! ! !

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(Eve or Cell)!

GULLAH/GEECHEE SEA ISLAND COALITION Post Office Box 1207

St. Helena Island SC 29920

© March 2016 Gullah/Geechee Nation! © March 2016 Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition

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ALL rights for photographs and articles are reserved. !

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

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E-mail address: ________________________________!

Where did you receive this? ________________________________!

What would you like to see done by this organization?