Category Archives: Gullah/Geechee Businesses and Industries
Black Philanthropy and Sowing into Gullah/Geechee Land and Legacy
Here in the Gullah/Geechee Nation from Jacksonville, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida, our ancestors transformed the Sea Islands and coastal lands into places of cultural continuity, spiritual grounding, economic independence and self-sufficiency. After centuries of enslavement, they purchased land, built praise houses and schools, established farms and fisheries, and created family compounds in which Gullah/Geechee traditions could thrive.
Today, the same land that sustained our ancestors is under tremendous pressure from escalating taxes, heirs’ property disputes and partition sales, destructionment, climate change impacts, cultural exploitation and displacement. When Gullah/Geechee land is lost, we lose more than acreage. We lose access to sacred burial grounds, fishing and farming traditions, family compounds, community gathering spaces, native foodways, linguistic landscapes and the living environment in which our culture has endured. This is why Black Philanthropy Month must move us beyond celebration and into action.
Gullah/Geechee Nation Appreciation Week 2026: Hunnuh Mus Tek Cyare de Root fa Heal de Tree
Throughout the Gullah/Geechee Nation stretching from Jacksonville, North Carolina down to Jacksonville, Florida and inland to the St. Johns River, lies a rich cultural legacy that has endured for centuries. Every year during late July and early August, communities across the region come together to celebrate Gullah/Geechee Nation Appreciation Week.
Purposeful Planning of the St. Helena Gullah/Geechee Multipurpose Center
Thirty years ago, I made a conscious decision to ensure that St. Helena Island would be the base of operations for the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition which is the oldest organization in world history that has “Gullah/Geechee” in its name. When I founded, the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition, one of our missions was to ensure that authentic Gullah/Geechee culture would be supported not simply verbally but politically and financially. So, I am sure that the ancestors that were fighting to protect St. Helena from being destroyed by a four to five lane highway expansion and against what I consider “destructionment” were smiling when the Beaufort Open Land Trust purchased the parcel of land at the intersection of Sea Island Parkway and Polowana Road in order to secure it for the St. Helena Island community. That parcel could have been a supermarket, the library location or the post office location since all of these were proposed in the past. Now there is a feasibility study being done for this to be the location of the St. Helena Island Gullah/Geechee Multipurpose Center which many natives of St. Helena Island requested years ago.
Gullah/Geechee Famlee Weekend 2026 Brings the Global Gullah/Geechee Family Home to Historic St. Helena Island, SC
Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, invites the community to gather at Penn Center for a powerful weekend of cultural reconnection, creativity, rhythm, foodways, art, ancestral legacy, and Gullah/Geechee family unity The Gullah/Geechee Nation invites the world to the epicenter of Gullah/Geechee culture—historic St. Helena Island, South Carolina—for Gullah/Geechee Famlee Weekend 2026, a two-day …
Gullah/Geechee June Celebrations!
Git readee fa culturally enriched fun! Jayn we een de Gullah/Geechee Nation een June ya! From the celebrations of Juneteenth to Black Music Month, e gwine be a Gullah/Geechee good time!
Gullah/Geechee Famlee Weekend een de Gullah/Geechee Epicenter een July!
Jayn we een de Gullah/Geechee epicenta fa “Gullah/Geechee Famlee Weekend 2026!” Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation and de Gullah/Geechee Famlee culturally invites you to the heart of the Gullah/Geechee Nation for “Gullah/Geechee Famlee Weekend.” We will gather on the grounds of Penn Center on historic St. Helena Island for two days of powerful cultural reconnection, reflection, and celebration—all under the guiding theme: “Hunnuh mus tek cyare de root fa heal de tree!”
Celebrate 25 Years of Gullah/Geechee Self-Determination at Gullah/Geechee Famlee Day!
The Gullah/Geechee Nation and its elected Head-of-State and Chieftess, Queen Quet, will celebrate a historic milestone: the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the Gullah/Geechee Nation. To mark this momentous occasion, the public is “culturally” invited to attend Gullah/Geechee Famlee Day on Saturday, July 26, 2025, from Noon to 3 PM at the iconic Penn Center, Inc. on historic St. Helena Island, South Carolina, within the heart of the Gullah/Geechee Nation.
Gullah/Geechee Nation 25th Anniversary Celebration Heats Up This Summer
The Gullah/Geechee Nation has been celebrating its 25th Anniversary since February. This is also the 25th Anniversary of Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation. Therefore, activities have been held in all four states already and the journey from Jacksonville to Jacksonville continues over the coming months. Queen Quet is calling for all the Gullah/Geechee Nation’s citizens and global supporters to come out and be a part of the fun and authentic cultural enrichment!
Gullah/Geechee Bottle Tree at the Bluffton Gullah Cultural Heritage Center
The Bluffton Gullah Cultural Heritage Center is set to make history with the unveiling of the tallest and largest custom bottle tree ever crafted in the United States. This remarkable twin bottle tree exhibit unveiling is part of the lead-up to the grand opening of the first-ever Gullah Cultural Heritage Center in the Bluffton-Hilton Head area—a space dedicated to honoring the rich legacy and contributions of the Gullah/Geechee people.
Gullah/Geechee Nation Appreciation Week 2024
Ef hunnuh waan kno de trut bout who webe, hunnuh hafa jayn dem who be Gullah/Geechee! Jayn we fa “Gullah/Geechee Nation Appreciation Week 2024” fa “Gullah/Geechee Tekin a Stand and Healin de Land!”