Gullah/Geechee Save the Sea Islands Tour Gwine on wid de Chillun

Gullah/Geechee Nation ♦ July 10, 2018 ♦ Leave a comment

Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) has been on her annual world tour since the beginning of the year.  Given that the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition (www.GullahGeechee.net) which she founded is now 20 years old, she returned to the theme that launched her into taking the Gullah/Geechee story internationally and themed the tour, “Gullah/Geechee Save the Sea Islands.”   Queen Quet has been to all fifty states of the United States and is now seeking to speak to people in every county in South Carolina.  She has already spoken in more than half of them over her nearly 40 year career leading the charge to authentically present the Gullah/Geechee language, history, and cultural traditions.

Queen Quet’s focus as she travels her home state is primarily “fa crak mi teet wid de chillun.”   Queen Quet annually speaks in Walterboro, SC at their summer reading program and she successfully did this last month at the Colleton County Memorial Library.  Throughout the year she does programs via the “Gullah/Geechee Living History Series” that the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition presents in partnership with the St. Helena Branch Library.  She took the living history to the children of the Metanoia Freedom School in North Charleston on Juneteenth.  Next she heads to Greenwood, SC for “Let’s Read.”  This project will donate 400 books to youths as part of Greenwood Diversity Committee’s “Let’s Talk About Race” series.  Duke Energy is sponsoring author Queen Quet to come in and not only do a book signing, but to also provide histo-musical presentations on Saturday, July 14th.  A morning session will be held from 10 to 11:30 at Weston Chapel AME Church with the afternoon session from 1:30 to 3 at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

At all of the events, Queen Quet encourages literacy.  She is an avid reader and a published author.  She just released the sixth volume of her thirty volume series on the history of Gullah/Geechees.  She will autograph copies at each event where she presents including during the “Gullah/Geechee Nation International Music & Movement Festival™ 2018” (www.GullahGeechee.info) which will take place in Charleston, SC August 3-5, 2018.  That festival will conclude with Queen Quet sharing the afternoon with youths at the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry from 2-5 pm during a massive drumming circle.

In the fall, numerous youths return to schools and they will come on De Gullah Root Experience Transformational Learning Tours of historic St. Helena Island, SC which Queen Quet is a native of.  Queen Quet has already hosted over a 200 youths on the tour this year including Girl Scouts.  She is also working on engaging Gullah/Geechee youths in the “EarthEcho Water Challenge” via her work as a member of the Gullah/Geechee Fishing Association (www.GullahGeecheeFishing.net).  They will host a “Gullah/Geechee Famlee Day” in October at Hunting Island Nature Center as part of the “Gullah/Geechee Seafood Festival” which will take place there on Saturday, October 27, 2018.  The families will engage in interactive events at the coastline which are based in Gullah/Geechee traditions.  Queen Quet started the “Gullah/Geechee Famlee Day” as a means of having people participate in the “Gullah/Geechee SEA and ME” program that she created.

Queen Quet believes in continuing the intergenerational learning that is a traditional practice of her native Gullah/Geechee culture.  So, we gwine on wid de chillun and gwine lun um who webe!