The Rich Legacy of the Gullah-Geechee (DRAKE HALL)

The Gullah Geechee narrative has, largely, been excluded from our understanding of Black history in the US.  Kidnapped (shamefully by my own ancestors) from West/Central Africa, they were enslaved for over 200 years on plantations along the southeastern coastal islands of South Carolina, Georgia, and the northern tip of Florida.   Since Emancipation, these warm and tenacious cultural warriors have struggled to retain the acreage they acquired when freed and the rich landscape of their language, stories, music, foodways, traditions, and spirituality.  From that cultural wealth, we have borrowed Kumbaya, the banjo, Porgy and Bess, shrimp gumbo, and Br’er Rabbit, among many other things. Currently, their fight for survival is threatened by oppressive taxation, rising coastal tides, and the insatiable greed of developers who are squeezing out the few remaining heirs.  

Note: If you took this class in 2024, there is new material included.  If this is your first time meeting the Gullah Geechee, a review will bring you up to date. 

Dale Mary Grenfell is a writer and professional storyteller who has had careers in education, textbook publishing, community theater, and non-profit.  She holds a B.A. from Regis University and has served as a guest speaker at conferences and on radio shows, discussing the principles of restorative justice and the power of storytelling. 

Notes

• A current OLLI membership is required to register for all courses and lectures.
• If you do not have a Spring 2026 membership, one will be added to your cart at checkout.
• OLLI membership fees and course tuition are critical to the Institute's sustainability and are non-refundable.

Recommendations

• God, Dr. Buzzard and the Bolito Man (2001) by Cornelia Walker-Bailey, Anchor Press (2001)
• Gullah Geechee Heritage in the Golden Isles (2019) by Amy Roberts & Patrick Holladay, The History Press (2019)
• Journey to the Sea Islands: Gullah Geechee Good!  by Angel Brown Harriott, Cultured Melanin Lvas (2020)
• Making Gullah:  A History of Sapelo Island, Race and the American Imagination Praying for Sheetrock 
• The Water is Wide 
• Gullah Folktales from the Georgia Coast 

Testimonials