Gullah Geechee Heritage Celebration to be held Nov. 1

October 2, 2018

Georgia Southern’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, Know Your Worth and the African Student Association will host a Gullah Geechee Heritage Celebration on Thursday, Nov. 1, on the Statesboro Campus in the Williams Center Multipurpose Room. The event will begin at 6 p.m. and will be followed by a brief reception.

The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of Central and West Africans who came from different ethnic and social groups. They were enslaved together on the isolated sea and barrier islands that span what is now designated as the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor — a stretch of the U.S. coastline. It extends from Pender County, North Carolina, to St. John’s County, Florida, for 30 miles inland.

The result of Gullah Geechee people began as an intense interaction among Africans from different language groups in settings where enslaved Africans and their descendants formed the majority. Over time, they developed the Creole Gullah Geechee language as a means of communicating with each other, and they were also able to preserve many African practices in their language, arts, crafts and cuisine.

The celebration on Nov. 1 will feature a West African inspired dance, historical presentations, and demonstrations by The African Spirit of Day Clean Journeys, Queen Quet and the Chieftess of the Gullah Geechee Nation.

For more information contact Maurice Nelson in the Office of Multicultural Affairs at oma@georgiasouthern.edu or 912-478-5409.

Georgia Southern University, a public Carnegie Doctoral/Research institution founded in 1906, offers 141 degree programs serving more than 27,000 students through nine colleges on three campuses in Statesboro, Savannah, Hinesville and online instruction. A leader in higher education in southeast Georgia, the University provides a diverse student population with expert faculty, world-class scholarship and hands-on learning opportunities. Georgia Southern creates lifelong learners who serve as responsible scholars, leaders and stewards in their communities. Visit GeorgiaSouthern.edu.