By Luana M. Graves Sellars Culturally, having a skill and the ability to read was probably one of the most important lessons that were passed down generationally. Being able to
By Luana M. Graves Sellars Similar to a lot of elements in their lives, the Gullah also maintained traditional African practices in medicine. Remedies that had been used over time
By Luana M. Graves Sellars Culture can mean many things. Sometimes it can mean the difference in what we do or how things are done. In a culture that began
It’s not often that you have the opportunity to spend time with a centenarian; it’s a chance to pause and to take notes. Time with her is a chance to peek behind the historic curtain and receive first-hand knowledge and unexpected details from someone’s past. Still active and clear in her memories, Mother Ethel Rivers comes across as if she’s decades younger. It’s only when she starts to share her rich past that you realize how much of a rare island treasure that she is. She, however, doesn’t think so.
At first impression, Kaylon “Poona” Ford is a shy and unassuming person. He admits that he doesn’t enjoy talking about himself, sometimes twisting his hair to show it, but after some prodding and persistence, eventually, he comes around. Born into the cultural and generational legacy of Hilton Head’s Gullah community, he has deep family roots here. Nicknamed Poona by his grandmother, Cynthia Williams, who remembers that she nicknamed him Pooh Bear, because he was “always a fat baby”. As he aged, the shortened version, of Poona stuck with him.
“M.A.G.I.C. is an opportunity to use the importance of Mitchelville with willpower and imagination to show how the story is important,” says Ahmad Ward, the Executive Director of the Mitchelville Preservation Project. “We are using this to model their behaviors just like their ancestors. Through the program, they learn to appreciate the significance of Mitchelville as they foster leadership skills, as well as a better connection to the place that they live and understand the value of where they live.”
Most of the streets, particularly on the north end of the island, trace back to its Gullah namesake; whether an individual or a family. That’s especially true, as you drive mid-island, as each beach not only has a history, but a Gullah family with several generations behind its name. Hilton Head’s Burke’s Beach is no different.
The Pin Point Museum is the site of an old Oyster Processing Plant and Factory. Home of one of the last Gullah communities in Georgia, Pin Point demonstrates how, through a step back in time Gullah families lived and sustained their culture.
By Luana M. Graves Sellars Along Savannah’s River Street you’ll see areas that were specifically built to confine slaves, called a Barracoon or slave castle. Savannah has a rich Geechee
Known island-wide as the Hilton Head Storyteller, Louise, who, at 73 years old, passionately and tirelessly breathes life into Gullah stories, while fighting to keep the history and culture of Hilton Head’s native islanders alive. As the curator of the Gullah Museum, Louise dedicates her life to collecting, protecting and preserving Gullah stories and artifacts for future generations.
