Once you discover where you're from, the knowledge can lead to not only self identification, but to a lifelong curiousity. For author, professor and reknowned speaker Dr. Edda Fields- Black, her Gullah roots launched a career in the study of rice and the incredible stories that came out of Harriet Tubman's infamous Combahee River Raid. Along the river, enslaved people toiled over rice. The raid freed close to 750 people and some went from slave to soldier as US Colored Troop Soldiers with some incredible stories to tell.

Passing traditional skills down through the generations is an important way of not only maintaining ancestrial connections, but it also enables the skill to be a significant part of the families cultural legacy. Making a batau, the traditional boats that were used by Gullah fishermen, is a time honored skill that is seldom practiced anymore. This specialized handmade boat building talent, which has been shared from father to son for centuries in West Africa, continues along the sea islands in the Gullah Geechee communities, but only a few craftsmen are left today. Listen in as one of our treasured edlers speaks about this important element of culture.

Gullah Geechee culture matured on the coastal sea islands, but it was born out of several West African countries, especially along its Rice Coast. The Gullah Geechee connection to Sierra Leone is very strong, with elements of the culture being found on a lot of shores around the Atlantic. Get ready to understand and experience the African story, history, culture, traditions, and the language, from where it started to all of the places around the globe that slavery took it.

We don't think about how important music is in our lives. For enslaved people, music was a source of strength that might have been one of the few things that helped them get throught the day. Listen in on a fascinating conversation with Keeper of the Culture, Dr. Eric Crawford, the author of Gullah Culture in America, on the importance and power that music was and still is in our daily life.

You never know where motivation or a shift in your life's path will take you. For Lotte Lieb Dula, it all started with a box in the attic that uncovered her family's past, led her to her calling. That box permanently altered not only how she sees the world, but what needs to change and how she intends to change it.

We talk about Heirs' Property a lot and how to find the heirs' and clear the title. But, what about what's next? There are several ways that the land can start to take care of itself and becoma an asset versus a liability. Here are some ideas and options that you can start today to have the land making enough money to pay for itself and create generational wealth.

West African tradition says that one should speak for themselves and for the ancestors who came before you. Gullah Chef, author and 6th generation farmer, Matthew Raiford is doing exactly that! He has taken his love for the culture, his roots and food and incorporated all of it into a lifestyle and business that is surly making the ancestors proud!

Plantation hopping from one to another and going in and out of slave cabins has become something that I've become drawn to. They have become more than old deteriorating buildings or just another historic tour, they are places were their stories I feel need to be shared accurately and completely. Straight no chaser. As it was and how it should be remembered. Every. Single.Time.

There's a lot of talk about the Gullah Geechee and West African connection and origin of the culture, but not much has been said about the strong bonds that slavery, wars and the blending of their traditions made between them.

Some people say that the Gullah Geechee language is dying. Well, it's not! Finding out how many people are speaking Gullah or Geechee might be difficult because speakers are code switching. So, what is code switching? And why are bi-lingual Gullah's changing how they speak in public if their first language is Gullah? Join me for an energized and educational conversation on language, culture and how the language will be able to sustain itself for future generations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To submit to being enslaved must have taken not only strength, but a fierce will to survive. So how did enslavers overcome ones will to resist or to run? The tactics often resulted in fear and torture as a punishment and or deterrent to keep enslaved people in line. It's not an easy thing to talk about or a thought that we want to dwell on, however, it's a major part of what we need to know and understand if we are going to talk about the American slavery story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Like a lot of people, Glander Pressly grew up in the culture, but through her work she shares its richness all the time. For her, spreading Gullah is a deeply personal experience that she appreciates every day, especially when she looks at slave cabins or handles shackles and any other remnants from the past and the ancestors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The newest federal holiday, Juneteenth, commemorates the end of slavery. It may be the most recent addition to the federal calendar, but it's the oldest and longest nationally celebrated holiday in the US. June 19th, otherwise known as Juneteenth or Black independence day. Sadly, the majority of Americans don’t know or even recognize the importance of this date to our history. Juneteenth is not just Black History, but an important milestone in American history and the birth of freedom.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So many incredible stories in Black history have been left untold. May and June are significant months in Black History. Here's the full story of two prominent Black American's who played a major part in shaping the nation's path to reconstruction after the Civil War.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that one of the first Memorial Day Celebration began as a Gullah holiday?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world premiere of the Mitchelville, took several years to reach the stage, but when it did, the play and the cast of eight, came together like a perfect storm and eventually, a family. Each charactor and story line might have started out as just words on a page, however, its historic and cultural impact on audiences and the actors has demonstrated lasting affects. Listen in to a facsinating conversation with the entire cast as they share their impressions of the story, the culture and the deeper meaning that the play Mitchelville left behind. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When highly successful TV screenwriter and playwrite, Aurin Squire decided to take on writing the play Mitchelville, it's not a leap to say that he didn't realize the magnitude and importance of the project by elevating the Gullah Geechee culture, by educating the Hilton Head Island community and even the lifechanging affects on the cast. Listen in to the play's backstory; why he decided to take it on and how it eventually affected him. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's the one year anniversary of the Lowcountry Gullah Podcast! With 52 episodes behind me and countless articles on the culture, I can't not reflect on the evolution of Lowcountry Gullah and my deepening dive into the culture and its impact. The last few years have been and incredible journey that has really changed who I am and how I now see life both historically and even more so, personally. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The slavery story is often told with limited details and in today's climate, the information about what enslaved people experienced is often glossed over. So, here's the raw truth with the bandage ripped off; from Africa to the Middle Passage to the Carribean Seasoning Camps. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some people say that the Gullah culture is dying off. Yes, its had some struggles in the past with people being either embarassed by the langauge or by association, or even having to learn how to code switch in public spaces, but today, Gullah Geechee pride is thriving! Meet Aku Page, one of the Keepers of the Culture who is not only proud of her heritage, but is doing all that she can to make sure that the youngest Gullah Geechee are proud of who they are and where they came from. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.