Category Archives: Carolina Gold Rice
Celebrating Gullah/Geechee een SC!
Spring begins and planting season takes place in the Gullah/Geechee Nation, opportunities to engage with Gullah/Geechee culture blooms. A series of events and celebrations highlighting the living legacy of the Gullah/Geechee will be taking place throughout SC.
Sustaining a Nation by Queen Quet @GullahGeechee
When I started out doing this work over almost 4 decades ago, no one else used the term “Gullah/Geechee” and now it is a hashtag unto itself. I was led to put the two words together in order to unify my people who had been separated by those that truly sought to destroy our spirits and exploit our abilities in the process. The fortunate reality is that there are people around the world that now know of the existence of #GullahGeechee history, heritage, and culture. However, the unfortunate thing is that due to the saturation of the entertainment and tourist markets with storytelling and misleading representations via museums, replicated sites, non-Gullah/Geechee operated events, tourism agencies, and now even museums that seek to exploit grant money, the work that the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition and the leaders of the Gullah/Geechee Nation are doing has become that much more difficult.
Gullah/Geechee: Heirs to Heirlooms
Many Gullah/Geechee heirs lost the value of their inheritance and their heirlooms over the generations because they truly were unaware of the value that lies therein. They didn’t realize that land was not a burden because you had to pay taxes for it. It is actually one of the greatest assets that one can possess. An asset greater than that our ancestors had even during their enslavement on these lands that are now the Gullah/Geechee Nation is vision.
Gullah/Geechee Nation Springs into Saturday Celebrations!
Cum jayn de Gullah/Geechee Famlee een GA and SC disya April ebee Satdee! The Gullah/Geechee Nation will be welcoming guests from all over the world this April as they host these annual spring celebrations each Saturday.
Gullah/Geechee Gold Rice Festival on Historic St. Helena Island, SC
Queen Quet is returning to Trinidad and Tobago in March on the “Save the Sea Islands World Tour” in order to provide a keynote address at the “TnT International Hill Rice Symposium” where she delivered a keynote in 2016. From there, she will return to her home island to host the “Gullah/Geechee Gold Rice Festival” in conjunction with the St. Helena Island Community Market on Saturday, April 7, 2018 from 10 am to 3 pm at the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Park at the intersection of Highway 21/Sea Island Parkway and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive on St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation. This event that is being sponsored by the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition, St. Helena Island Community Market, and All Mobile Productions™ (AMP™) is FREE and open to the public, but they do request that attendees obtain passes on EventBrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gullahgeechee-gold-rice-festival-tickets-33639130545.
Gullah/Geechee, Hoppin’ John, and Greens and What This Means
Hunnuh chillun ain pose ta gwine een ta de Nyew Year widout de Hoppin John and de greens!
Riceboro RiceFest in the Gullah/Geechee Nation
Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, Brick, Special Formula, and Dayclean de African Spirit will all be a part of the Riceboro RiceFest in the Gullah/Geechee Nation this weekend! Bring de famlee and jayn we!
Beyond Tourism Week in the Gullah/Geechee Nation
The U.S. travel and tourism industry generates approximately $2.1 trillion per year. So, it is no surprise that there is actually a “Tourism Week” celebrated. In South Carolina, Gullah/Geechee culture is often highlighted at the I-95 North Visitors Center in Hardeeville, SC. However, in most cases, Gullah/Geechee culture is not highlighted, it is hijacked!
The massive amount of tourists that come to the Gullah/Geechee Nation annually believe that by driving through and taking photos and then staying in a hotel or camp ground over night, they have supported the Gullah/Geechee people. They even end up often duped into spending funds at “historic sites” and plantations that have Gullah/Geechee listed on their websites and shots of sweetgrass baskets on their brochures to only find out that there are no Gullah/Geechee people that own that site. There may be one Gullah/Geechee person or a few that work there, but beyond their salaries, there is no economic support going to the citizens of the Gullah/Geechee Nation.
Hollywood’s “Underground” in the Gullah/Geechee Nation
Many that come to St. Helena Island seek out two of their natives that are known around the world-Queen Quet and American Idol winner, Candice Glover. They will get a chance to see them on their screens from the comfort of their own homes shortly as these two get to proudly represent their ancestors on “Underground” which premieres on WGN on March 8th. They want everyone to RISE UP and tune in! E gwine be a time!
Travel Channel Road Trip to the Gullah/Geechee Nation
Channel Channel hosted a “Southern Road Trip” with the Potash Twins. This journey brought them through the Gullah/Geechee Nation. During the journey, they got to connect with Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) at the Gullah/Geechee owned “Hannibal’s” restaurant in Charleston, SC.