Are you ready

September 2, 2017

Are you ready to come by here?
Draped in Spanish moss and surrounded by sawgrass marshes and acres of farmland, St. Helena Island holds much of its beauty in its rich Gullah culture.
Gullah Geechee culture carries language and traditions from West Africa dating back to the 1700s. The distinction between Gullah and Geechee is location: Gullah identifies the islanders from South Carolina and Geechee, from the Sea Islands of Georgia.
The Penn Center on St. Helena Island helps preserve the Gullah Geechee history and traditions. The center, which was founded in 1862, was the first school in the South for newly freed men and women. It later served as the only location in South Carolina where interracial groups could come together during the Civil Rights Movement. http://www.sciway.net/afam/penn.html
Although limited in locale to the southeastern coast, the Gullah Geechee influence is far reaching.
Martin Luther King, Jr. met at the Penn Center with other thought leaders of his time to debate the future of the Civil Rights Movement.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/us/04retreat.html. In January 2017, President Barack Obama named the Center a Reconstruction Era National Monument.
Clarence Thomas, US Supreme Court Justice was raised in coastal Georgia speaking Gullah. The ridicule he experienced speaking Gullah, according to Judge Thomas, influenced a habit of "listening rather than speaking in public." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah_language
Even if you never heard of Gullah or Geechee, a safe bet is you've heard the song, Kumbayah--Gullah meaning, "Come By Here." For years as I passed through St. Helena, the Penn Center called my name to, "Come By Here." Last year I heeded the call.
Next stop calling my name: Gullah Grub in Frogmore, SC. http://gullahgrub.com/about.html Bill Green, owner and chef of the Gullah Grub Restaurant, was featured on "Martha Stewart Living" and Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations." https://youtu.be/w8psoKSbciY. Bill Green follows the Gullah tradition of preparing food fresh, local, and in season, e.g. oysters are served only in the months ending in the letter 'r'--September through December.
I might not be ready for fiddlehead soup, but a trip to Frogmore is in order. "Kumbayah."

~ LowTide explorer, Carolyn Fjeran
~ LowTide explorer, Carolyn Fjeran

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