By Luana M. Graves Sellars
Historic Gullah settlements span the coastal Sea Islands from North Carolina to Florida, preserving unique West African-rooted traditions.
The link between the Sea Islands and the Black Seminole communities in the West is defined by a lesser-known chapter of history often called the “Saltwater Underground Railroad.”
Unlike the traditional Underground Railroad that moved north, this route ran south—from the rice plantations of South Carolina and Georgia into the swamps of Spanish Florida. The people who made this journey carried Gullah culture with them, preserving it in isolation across thousands of miles.
The connections to Tulsa, Oklahoma and Mexico represent a fascinating, lesser-known expansion of the Gullah Geechee story through the migration of the Black Seminoles.
* Listen in on a great conversation on the Lowcountry Gullah Podcast (Season 5 Episode 33) that gives a deep dive into the story of the Black Seminoles.
Spotlight on Historic Settlements
North Carolina to Florida: The Sea Islands
- Amelia Island, Florida: It marks the southern boundary of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, and features American Beach, a historic community and sanctuary that was founded by Black entrepreneurs during Jim Crow.
- Navasa, North Carolina: is a historic riverside town in Brunswick County with deep roots. Several rice plantations were along the Cape Fear River. Because Navassa is not like other isolated sea island communities, eventually Gullah descendants integrated into local industries and established homesteads.
- Georgetown, South Carolina: A historic waterside community, (and where my people are from) it is a pivotal northern anchor for Gullah history. At one point, Georgetown County was the largest producer of rice in the world and home to around 150 plantations.
- St. Helena Island, South Carolina: Home to the historic Penn Center, established in 1862 as one of the very first schools for freed enslaved people. The campus of Penn has been continuously active throughout the Civil Rights era and was where Martin Luther King came for respite and wrote his famous “I Have A Dream” speech.
- Sandy Island, South Carolina: One of the last two islands that are only accessible by boat. The island is a 9,000-acre freshwater island nestled between the Pee Dee and Waccamaw Rivers. Founded by a freedman named Phillip Washington, it remains home to roughly 50 direct descendants of West African rice cultivators. Because of its historic isolation, residents preserve traditional speech rhythms, outdoor clotheslines, and distinct cooking styles. The 1880 New Bethel Baptist Church still anchors the community.
- Brunswick, Georgia: Brunswick has maintained deep-rooted, tight-knit family traditions that preserve Gullah Geechee oral histories and customs. The Gullah Geechee Georgia Museum is located at the historic 1870s Needwood Baptist Church. Neighborhoods like Dixville, was home to an active and bustling African American economic community between the late 19th century and World War II. Its history also runs deep with extensive coastal rice-cultivation by enslaved West Africans.
- Tybee Island, Georgia: Positioned at the mouth of the Savannah River, the island was a critical entry point where enslaved West Africans were brought via the Transatlantic slave trade. The island features a dedicated 13-stop historical route documenting Gullah Geechee life. Key landmarks include the Lazaretto Quarantine Station—where incoming enslaved people were inspected prior to sale.
- St. Simons Island, Georgia: Not too far away from the marshes from Brunswick, the island’s Harrington community was settled by freedmen after emancipation. It became a thriving economic center and self-contained Gullah village. Built in the 1920s, the Historic Harrington School was key in providing early Gullah education on the island. St. Simons is also home to the Georgia Sea Island Singers, who continue to perform ring shouts.
- Jekyll Island, Georgia: The site of one of the last illegal slave ships to enter US waters, the Wanderer docked on Jekyll Island in 1858. Today, you can follow the Wanderer Memory Trail, which highlights the journey of a young African boy named Umwalla from captivity to freedom.
- Pinpoint, Georgia: A tight-knit coastal community founded by freedmen in the late 19th century, famous for its deep traditions in oystering and crabbing. Pinpoint is the home of the Pinpoint Museum.
- Sapelo Island, Georgia: Only accessible by ferry, and home to Hog Hammock, it’s a historic community where descendants of enslaved West Africans still protect their land, language, and unique way of life. In the recent past, Sapelo residents have been fighting a few lawsuits regarding ongoing zoning changes and the threat of displacement as a result of skyrocketing property taxes. Here’s a link to news coverage on the issue. https://www.wtoc.com/2026/08/07/sapelo-island-rezoning-sparks-outcry-gullah-geechee-community/
Tulsa and Oklahoma: The Freedmen Connection
- The Trail of Tears: Prior to the Mexico migration, thousands of Black Seminoles were forced onto the Trail of Tears into Oklahoma, ending up in the territories surrounding present-day Tulsa.
- Afro-Seminole Creole: Because of this geographic split, an offshoot of the Gullah language known as Afro-Seminole Creole survived for generations among elders in rural Oklahoma and Texas.
- Modern Legal Battles: Today, many descendants of Black Creeks and Black Seminoles (often called Freedmen) are engaged in active legal fights out of federal courts in Oklahoma to reclaim their full tribal citizenship rights, preserving a distinct Afro-Indigenous identity that traces its roots straight back to the Lowcountry Sea Islands.
Texas and Mexico: The Escape to Freedom
- The Border Crossing: In 1850, legendary Black Seminole chief John Horse led a mass migration of Gullah descendants from Indian Territory out to Texas, eventually crossing the Rio Grande into Mexico to escape re-enslavement.
- El Nacimiento, Coahuila: The Mexican government granted them land in exchange for patrolling the border against raiders. Known in Mexico as the Mascogos, this community still thrives in El Nacimiento today, preserving a mix of Spanish, Gullah customs, and spiritual songs.
- Bracketville, Texas: In the 18th and 19th centuries, many enslaved Gullah people from the Carolinas and Georgia escaped south into Spanish-controlled Florida. They allied with the Seminole Nation, forming a distinct Afro-Indigenous group known as the Black Seminoles. Following the Seminole Wars and forced displacement by the US government, their descendants branched out across North America.
In the 1870s, many Black Seminoles returned to Texas to serve as highly decorated frontier scouts for the US Army. Their descendants still live in Brackettville and hold annual Seminole Days celebrations in the fall, maintaining ties with their Gullah heritage through ancestral language fragments and food.
Deep in the desert of Coahuila, Mexico, the descendants of the Black Seminoles—known locally as the Negros Mascogos—celebrate their freedom every year on Día de los Negros (Juneteenth).
While they cross the border to join relatives in Texas for celebrations, the biggest festivities happen directly in their sanctuary of El Nacimiento. The community honors their Gullah ancestors who traveled thousands of miles by dressing in traditional clothing, preparing traditional foodways, and singing Capeyis—sacred spiritual hymns passed down orally through generations. These songs match the exact meter, rhythm, and call-and-response structures heard in the traditional ring shouts of the South Carolina and Georgia Sea Islands.
The Black Seminoles
The connections to Tulsa, Oklahoma, Texas, and Mexico represent a fascinating, lesser-known expansion of the Gullah Geechee story through the migration of the Black Seminoles.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, many enslaved Gullah people from the Carolinas and Georgia escaped south into Spanish-controlled Florida. They allied with the Seminole Nation, forming a distinct Afro-Indigenous group known as the Black Seminoles. Following the Seminole Wars and forced displacement by the US government, their descendants branched out across North America.
