Disya Who WEBE!
- The Gullah/Geechees came together to declare themselves as a nation on July 2, 2000 with international observers and media present.
The Gullah/Geechee Nation exist from Jacksonville, NC to Jacksonville, FL. It encompasses all of the Sea Islands and thirty to thirty-five miles inland to the St. John’s River. On these islands, people from numerous African ethnic groups linked with indigenous Americans and created the unique Gullah language and traditions from which later came “Geechee.” The Gullah/Geechee people have been considered “a nation within a nation” from the time of chattel enslavement in the United States until they officially became an internationally recognized nation on July 2, 2000. At the time of their declaration as a nation, they confirmed the election of their first “head pun de boddee”-head of state and official spokesperson and queen mother. They elected Queen Quet, Chieftess and Head-of-State for the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com).
Queen Quet is the first elected Chieftess and Head-of-State for the Gullah/Geechee Nation.
The Gullah/Geechee Nation can be reached at
Gullah/Geechee Nation Headquarters
Post Office Box 1109
St. Helena Island SC 29920
(843) 838-1171 or email GullGeeCo@aol.com
The Gullah/Geechee Nation Declaration states:
Mission
To preserve, protect, and promote our history, culture, language, and homeland and to institute and demand official recognition of the governance (minority) rights necessary to accomplish our mission to take care of our community through collective efforts which will provide a healthy environment, care for the well beings of each person, and economic empowerment.
Goals
As we are the authentic original Gullah/Geechee Nation with direct linkage to our ancestral legacy, we stand as custodians of Gullah/Geechee culture and protectors of our human rights. Henceforth, being the ONLY and TRUE keepers of the Gullah/ Geechee cultural legacy, upon us falls the responsibility to promote in an accurate and positive manner all aspects of Gullah/ Geechee culture by emanating knowledge and healing souls. This process is guided through the release of the full story of the foreparents of Gullah and Geechee ancestral souls and the wisdom of our elders.
WE intend to protect the development and construction of Gullah/Geechee culture through the establishment of appropriate institutions and law by the exercise of our human rights. Presently this is being achieved through and during conferences, workshops, festivals, and other celebrations of culture and the continuation of oral traditions, living history, crafts, skills, and reconnection to the soil. The establishment of this Constitution will guarantee the continuation by the exercise of our minority right to self-determination.
WE will link with organizations, other nations, and institutions that are contributing positively to the cultivation of our nation.insuring that those connections are carried out with dignity and honor.
In the tradition of our foreparents we will record in written form OURSTORY as a living testament to our Gullah/Geechee legacy. We will also broaden our continuum through the use of electronic and video and audio means of documentation. Through the exercise of our human rights, we will be the keepers of this material as we accept the responsibilities of defining ourselves and our ancestors.
WE will preserve, maintain, and reclaim ALL elements of our homeland which will FOREVER be our base of existence as we carry out these goals. With these goals in mind, Gullah/Geechee people take formal recognition of their nation and their human right to self-determination within the context of their minority governance rights, and thereby, the Gullah/Geechee Nation Wisdom Circle Council of Elders, by its hands, spirit and soul undertakes the task of creating and ratifying the first Constitution of the Gullah/Geechee Nation.
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The Gullah/Geechee Nation Constitution is 21 pages long. It is the document of governing principles by which the Wisdom Circle Council of Elders and the Assembly of Representatives operated as the right and left hands of the Head-of-State.
Official flag of the Gullah/Geechee Nation
Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation educates about the meaning of the national flag of the Gullah/Geechee Nation:
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Hello is the surname Baxley known in the Gullah community?
Peace Don!
Baxley is not a common surname here. Do you know the state and county that your family is from?
Peace and love, is Drayton or Washington a Surname I’m from Charleston SC. Mount pleasant 7 mile community to be exact
Peace Khalil!
How hunnuh da do? Ef hunnuh dey frum 7 Mile, hunnuh should dun kno sey dem da Gullah/Geechee nyam ya.
Draytons are not only in Charleston County but some migrated northward to Georgetown. Washington is common in many parts of the Gullah/Geechee Nation.
Peace and love homeboy!
Thank you for providing this platform. Are you familiar with the surname Capers, Thompson, or Mcdonald? My grandmother is Darnetta Capers Hemphill(her father is Nathaniel Capers Sr and half brother is Nathaniel Capers jr, all from Louisiana>father is Morris Capers) and her mother, my great grandmother is Viola Mcdonald(her dad is Noble Mcdonald> and mom is Rachel Thompson Mcdonald)
Peace Brittany!
We are very familiar with the last name Capers and variations on the spelling of Thompson. However, you stated that they are from Louisiana and not from our coastal region. Did they migrate there from the Gullah/Geechee Nation? If so, what state and county were they in prior to Louisiana.
The McDonald Family is not one of ours.
Good morning. My ancestors surname there is Newsome, Johnson, Caldwell & Austin. Are those surname common among the Gullah Geeche nation?
Peace Samuel!
Although Johnson is a very common name here, that is not enough details to say that the person is Gullah/Geechee. What state(s) and county or counties where these ancestors from?
The Caldwells were in Chester county as were the Johnsons in Chester County.
Good afternoon!!
I would love to know if the name Joshua Tarbutton rings a bell. He’s my ancestor from SC. I dont know much about him other than he eventually moved to Mississippi.
Peace!
That name doesn’t ring a bell. Check with the SC Department of Archives and History in Columbia, SC though.
Any Venning or Gadsen surnames?
Just received my 23 and me results that say Pee Dee River Gullah ancestry
Hello, I have done so research via ancestry.com and talking to the elders in my family and found documentation about my great-grand dad from Beaufort County. Do you recognize the name Andrew Johnson. He had a son my grand dad named Ulysee Johnson?
Peace Kay!
That specific name is definitely recognizable but not for the reasons you are seeking information. There are multiple Johnson Families in Beaufort County, SC. So, you may need to visit to talk directly with some of the elders to narrow down the family.
Peace & Blessings. I was told by my great aunt that she and her parents moved from Beaufort county to the Ga area when she was a young girl. Does the name Andrew Johnson or Millie Pittman sound familiar?
Peace Kay!
The surname Johnson is well known in Beaufort County, SC. However, Pittman is not.
I replied earlier but it won’t let me reply to that thread so I just copied are previous chat:
Me: Hi! My great grandfather’s name was R.T. (Sam) Shipmon, and he was Geechee. Is the surname Shipmon common? Also, I just want to say thank you for your content. It has been so helpful with learning about my ancestors. I hope to one day be able to learn the language 🙂
You: Peace Haleigh! Tenki Tenki a hunnuh wods ya! We are glad that this has been helpful to you. We do not know the name “Shipmon,” but we know “Shipman” from Beaufort County, SC. Do you have a state and county that RT was from?
Me: Im not sure. He was adopted, but he was raised in St Francis, Arkansas. He was supposedly born in Tennessee. Also, after doing more research. His last name is ShipmAn on earlier documents. He was raised by Morris Bowers and Ida White
Great grandfather is from Nesmith SC. Last name Nesmith.