Tag Archives: St. Helena Island
Resolutions, Restitution, and Reparations: 2018 State of the Gullah/Geechee Nation
Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) celebrated her 18th anniversary as the elected head pun de bodee of the Gullah/Geechee Nation with her annual State of the Gullah/Geechee Nation address on Gullah/Geechee Riddim Radio
From Penn School to Penitentiary-The Attempted Imprisoning of a Gullah/Geechee Community
Ironically and Divinely, many of us that were students of St. Helena School who also grew up working at, going to programs and meetings, and fighting for Penn did not fall into the school to prison pipeline that has been the outgrowth of the lowering of the Gullah/Geechee students’ self-esteem and the lack of income that is directed toward the educational institutions on St. Helena. In fact, we are revolted by the site of penitentiaries! So, when an Anglo woman asked me last week, “Why is a fence going around Penn Center for it to look like a jail over there?,” I felt as if someone had punched me in the stomach. I visualized what she said and then I actually drove by the historic site yesterday and saw how it was now being caged in. I also knew that I was glad to be free and would remain so because I was not going to let anyone imprison me nor my mind because theirs may be!
Penn Center Drives a Stake Through the Heart of the Gullah/Geechee Community
The Gullah/Geechee community and residents of St. Helena Island repeatedly stated that they did NOT want Penn Center gated off from the community and wanted it to remain an open and welcoming public historic area.
Anyone that has learned the history of the displacement of Gullah/Geechee communities are well aware of the fact that gated areas are the primary mechanism used against the community. The gates promote exclusion no matter what reasoning may be provided about them. The native Gullah/Geechee family of St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation has made it clear that fences and gates are in opposition to their culture and their lifestyle. Yet, an institution that their ancestors built is now becoming a gated area.
May 2018 Celebrations in the Gullah/Geechee Nation
Now that spring is in full effect, the days are definitely not wasted in the Gullah/Geechee Nation. In fact, this is the time for continued cultural celebration! The Gullah/Geechee Nation is hosting events every weekend in May. Bring de famlee and cum fa jayn we!
Queen Quet of @GullahGeechee Celebrating National Park Week!
As much as I am celebrating National Park Week April 21st through 28th along with the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks, by traveling to national parks in the midwest and Great Plains, I am truly looking forward to people traveling to my home county to celebrate our national monument the first weekend of June when we host the “Realities of Reconstruction Conference.” National Park Week is dubbed “as a time to explore amazing places, discover stories of history and culture.” The Reconstruction Era National Monument and our conference that will explore the sites within it will allow the participants to celebrate the historic legacy and culture of the Gullah/Geechee Nation.
Penn Center Community Relations Committee 2nd Meeting
On March 21, 2018, the second Penn Center Community Relations Committee meeting was held which provided the community with feedback from the Penn Center Board of Trustees and staff on the community recommendations from the January meeting.
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 Cultural Heritage Conferences 2018
These conferences are wonderful opportunities to engage in interactive activities and dialogues with people that live the Gullah/Geechee culture and learn first hand how they continue to keep their cultural heritage alive. You can also learn how you can be an active part of assisting in that process. The Gullah/Geechees encourage hunnuh fa jayn we fa yeddi who webe frum we!
Gullahs of Achievement A Celebration of Black History
The landmark St. Helena Branch Library will host its annual free Black History Month celebration on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at 6 pm. Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) and Founder of the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition will provide the keynote address for the program themed “Gullahs of Achievement.” Queen Quet will focus on the legacy of Gullah/Geechee native Robert S. Abbott who founded “The Defender” newspaper and how his publication altered the history of tens of thousands of people of African descent during the era that is now referred to as “The Great Migration.”
Fighting for History-The Fort Fremont Story
During the annual members meeting at the landmark St. Helena Branch Library, the Friends of Fort Fremont premiered the documentary, “Fort Fremont: The Last Bastion in the Defense of Port Royal Sound 1898 – 1912.” This is the untold story of our local historic landmark and Beaufort’s role in the Spanish-American War.
