Monthly Archives: December, 2015
De Conch 2015 Golden Edition
De Conch is the international ezine of De Gullah/Geechee Nation. This publication was started by the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition. This year end edition celebrates the work the Coalition has done for 19 years. Ef bout we hunnuh wan kno, den yeddi De Conch da blo!
Gullah/Geechee Christmas Grooves
Merry Christmas ta hunnuh chillun and hunnuh famlee tuh. We pray sey all wha hunnuh gwine do and hunnuh trabull gwine be smooth. Fa mek sho hunnuh hab good memoree an ting we send disya ta u. De Gullah/Geechee Riddim Radio wan hunnuh fa hab sum Christmas grooves! Tune in to the “Gullah/Geechee Christmas Party” …
Gullah/Geechee Nation Land Battles Featured on VICE News
VICE News will be featuring the land battles in the Gullah/Geechee Nation on an upcoming episode to conclude 2015. Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation is one of the voices featured in this piece that was shot in South Carolina and in Georgia. Although the site uses the word “vanishing,” the piece will highlight why Gullah/Geechees are fighting back to insure that their culture is continuing!
Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition 19 Years Strong!
Queen Quet was given a statement by the ancestors in a vision and this became the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition’s motto which has been incorrectly published as a “Gullah proverb” by many that did not cite Queen Quet for the origin of the quote:
“Hunnuh mus tek cyare de root fa heal de tree.”
DSC01518
However, she has lived these words as she’s worked on behalf of the Gullah/Geechee community for over thirty five years and she continues to stand and lead the efforts to keep Gullah/Geechee culture alive and heal the community from the hostility and misrepresentation that they have endured.
From Chi-Raq to Chucktown: When Bullets Fly and Family Goes Down
When the bullets flew and the words of negativity and denigration did too, they all hit my heart and soul equally. A murdered soul caused by constantly hearing and speaking negativity is a much slower death to detect than a body shot down, especially if those closest by are high on whatever their drug of choice may be-sex, alcohol, sugary foods and drinks, weed, religious ecstasy, pills, heroin, powdered coke, crack, etc.-are the ones that would have to be left to determine the time of death. The scenes on screens make it look like the time of death for entire communities was called before the babies there were even born. So, as the lights went down, a tear fell too because if folks have no consciousness in their midst and their destruction is funded by the layers of governmental entities that they are taxed by, how can they live on beyond that planned date of their expiration?
Rest or Run? Discussing Rising Seas and Relocation with the Gullah/Geechee Nation
The word “retreat” immediately invokes images of relaxation for me and many in the Gullah/Geechee Nation since people come by the tens of thousands to our homeland for just that. The fact that they have has led to the displacement of our people for those that want this to be their final place of retreat and relaxation for numerous reason. However, in this discussion that I was now being engaged, this word meant the other meaning that is not a part of my standard vocabulary-to run!
Gullah/Geechee Land, Legacy, Access, and Sustainability
As I engage in the work on behalf of my people, one of the consistent questions over the years has been one regarding access issues in the Gullah/Geechee Nation and in the more recent years, the questions have also been about sustainability of the Gullah/Geechee Nation which brings us full circle to “saving the Sea Islands.” The environmental encroachment due to overbuilding that has been brought into the Gullah/Geechee Nation (and is not an outgrowth of native vision nor design) is now met with the rising seas and a myriad of climate science issues that continue to negatively impact the waterways and shoreline which lead to negative impacts on the quality of life for Gullah/Geechees. It also affects the continuation of our cultural traditions and the protection of cultural heritage assets. In the face of it all, we are “resilient.”
2015 fa de Gullah/Geechee
I look back and remember all the family that was killed
And I can also look back on all the smiles and the days when we were thrilled.
With my mind’s eye there are so many things that I’ve been able to see
And I give thanks for the many blessings bestowed upon the Gullah/Geechee.
Leroy Campbell Reveals His Authentic Self
Gullah/Geechee native of Charleston, Leroy Campbell is a world renown multimedia artists. He has now also entered the arena as an author. Tune in to the Gullah/Geechee TV (GGTV) coverage of the release of his new book entitled “My Authentic Self” as he discusses the film about his life
Gullah/Geechee Surviving and Thriving as the Sea Rises
It took the waters coming down over and over again as the seas rose day after day for people to begin to pay attention to what we spoke of generations ago about not building in certain areas and not building out into our waterways…no one was prepared for the supermoon to be coupled with all of this when the rain started falling and falling and falling in South Carolina and graves started to wash out and the sands started to move and as the sands moved, the roads collapsed and as more sands moved the houses fell and the streets flooded and what they had built came down.