What fascinates you about the Gullah people? What fascinates me the most is that the Gullah people have kept parts of their history, their heritage, in a place and time where it may not be the most popular or easy thing to do. The Gullah people revere their ancestors and work hard to bring honor to them. In modern-day times, this is refreshing and rare.
How did you obtain your research?
I began by researching on the internet, reading articles from newspapers and such. What I learned ultimately was that the media is often incorrect in its relaying of facts. After the book was written, I had a couple of people who knew first-hand about the Gullah culture read it and help me with my Gullah translations and Mount Pleasant African-American vernacular—not to mention customs and other important details. Those people were Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation and Alada Shinault-Small of the Avery Research Center at College of Charleston. Their help was immeasurable.
Why do you think their culture is important for a national platform?
I think I was drawn to the Gullah culture because I grew up on a South Carolina Sea Island. There was a large Gullah population on Hilton Head, yet I never understood the importance of it until I moved a little north to Mount Pleasant where basket makers are celebrated. When my eyes were opened, I wondered, “How did I not know about this culture sooner?” or maybe more importantly, “Did I not care?”
What I realized was that too many times Americans consider “black history” to be for blacks only. This is not true. Black history is “American history”. It’s important to all Americans to understand our beginnings—to understand one another. Learning about the Gullah culture, whether you’re black, white, Asian, it doesn’t matter…it’s important because it helps us to understand our beginnings and also how we can each retain unique aspects of our heritage, yet strengthen our connections between ethnicities. As a Southerner, there are also so many facets of Southern culture that are a result of direct contributions of the Gullah people—food, art, language, you name it.
Stay tuned next week Nicole will share her road to publication with us. If you have any questions for her, please leave them here in the comments section.
Stay tuned next week Nicole will share her road to publication with us. If you have any questions for her, please leave them here in the comments section.
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