Port Royal Proclaims Gullah/Geechee Nation Appreciation 2016
Port Royal Proclaims Gullah/Geechee Nation Appreciation Week 2016!
by Gullah/Geechee Nation
The Town of Port Royal, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation proclaimed "Gullah/Geechee Nation Appreciation Week" 2016! Mayor Samuel Murray presented Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) with the proclamation at the town hall. This is the fourth year that the town has participated in this outstanding celebration of Gullah/Geechee cultural heritage. The theme for this year is "A Celebration of Self-Determination!"
In the event of news and information pertaining to Africans worldwide we need to establish an awareness campaign to keep in touch on one or several particular news broadcasts. These news outlets must speak truth and alert our people to what is taking place anywhere in the world from African eyes and ears. In Ancient times, we suffered greatly from the lack of communication, many tribes were either far away from each other, behind mountains, lakes, rivers, spoke a different language, were at odds with each other, etc. This lack of central communication and intelligence hurt the African cause to remain free, independent and strong, must I add. Communication is strength like the African drum. Now all lionesses and lions roar mighty so the world can hear.
This channel can be utilized for advertisement of festivals or economic empowerment news. Many various types of important and trivial announcements pertaining to all Africans. This online channel can also be utilized to deliver important news to all African Americans, Gullahs, Pan Africans, Black Nationalists, Conscious community, religious communities and congregations, whatever your category of group you are welcomed to tune in. There maybe major events that would affect you and your family. You don't want to trust the major news outlets with delivering to you the truth as they are controlled forces designed to mislead. All of them. Even the popular Black news outlets. Trust in your intuition first, pray and stay up to date with events. Remember get your food growing game up. Stock on emergency supplies and tools. Medicine. Love, Sango.
Her Royal Majesty Queen Quet of the Gullah Nation
Liberia News
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Radio LIB is the first Liberian online radio station broadcasting in the United States.
Listeners have the opportunity to participate in live interviews with Liberian personalities and artists and also send shout out to their family and friends in Liberia and the around the world. Get your food growing game up. Practice makes perfect. Everyone should pick one plant that they like and specialize in growing it in combination with companion plants, that is plants that support your favorite plant including the soil environment around it. Example: My favorite plant is beans. So, Plants That Help Beans: Summer Savory: Summer savory helps repel bean beetles and improves the flavor and overall growth of bean plants. Plants Helped by Beans: Since beans fix nitrogen in the soil, they are great "helper" plants in the garden. They are particularly good to plant with the following vegetables: Carrots Beets Broccoli Brussels Sprouts Cauliflower Celery Corn Cucumbers Eggplant Kale Peas Potatoes Radishes Strawberries Swiss Chard Yours could be Aloe Vera or Eggplant. Learn to grow in combination but start with a favorite.
Slaves in the low country along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia frequently originated from western Africa and shared similar language and culture. The blend of African and European developed into a unique culture called Gullah that exists today in Sea Islands along the southeastern coast and retains many West African traditions.
Sweetgrass marsh
One of the most visible traditions is a unique method of "sewing" baskets made of sweetgrass (Muhlenbergia filipes or Muhlenbergia capillaries depending on who's doing the describing). Sweetgrass is a fine bladed, sweet vanilla fragrances perennial grass that grows behind coastal sand dunes in moist soils. Rather than using the weaving technique of most basketmakers, Gullah basketmakers bundle dried sweetgrass and coil it into baskets held together by sewing the coils with thin strands of saw palmetto leaves. Dark reddish-brown bulrush and pine needles are often interwoven with the light colored sweetgrass to add color and patterns as well as the added strength of the bulrush. Today, sweetgrass baskets have become a cherished and sought after Lowcountry art form with the majority of basketmakers centered in the Charleston/ Mt. Pleasant area of coastal South Carolina. Residents and visitors to the Lowcountry buy and display sweetgrass baskets in their homes with the same intent and enthusiasm that they would for any other fine piece of art.
More than display pieces, however, sweetgrass baskets are durable in use and will last indefinitely with minimal care. Baskets around our home find utility for beautifully housing fruits and breads, car keys and wallets, and outgoing mail. And then there are special pieces that sit proudly on the buffet with no other utility than to display their careful craftsmanship and the artist's skill of design. Large, complex pieces can take months to complete and are increasingly being purchased by collectors and museums around the world, including the Smithsonian Institution Museum of American History.
Sweetgrass basketry is one of the oldest art forms of African origin in the United States. The tradition has been threatened, however, by declines in habitat for sweetgrass due to coastal development. The Historical Society of Charleston is establishing reserves for sweetgrass on Sullivan's Island, just north of Charleston, in recognition of the culture and history represented by sweetgrass baskets. We are delighted and honored to work with select talented Lowcountry South Carolina basketmakers to bring you fine handcrafted sweetgrass baskets.
Care for sweetgrass baskets by cleaning gently with a soapy soft brush or cloth. Rinse thoroughly with cold water and let air dry.
Queen Quet of the @GullahGeechee Invites the African Family to the Gullah/Geechee Reunion
by Gullah/Geechee Nation
Annually, the Saturday of the "Gullah/Geechee Nation International Music & Movement Festival™" is "Gullah/Geechee Reunion Day." The 2016 "Gullah/Geechee Reunion Day" will be held at the Charleston Maritime Center on the Charleston Harbor in Charleston, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation. To insure that there is an international reconnection of the Gullah/Geechee Diaspora, Queen Quet has been invited to one of the largest radio stations that broadcast in Liberia and other countries of West Africa, "Radio LIB" to discuss the survival of the Gullah/Geechee Nation and its links to the Motherland and to invite the family to come back together at the location from which many departed to head back to West Africa. Tune in on Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 10 am EST to Radio LIB! Hunnuh gwine yeddi Queen Quet ob de @GullahGeechee!
#BlackMusicMonth Bluffton’s Own Latrese Bush Lady of Love Songs
by Gullah/Geechee Nation
Gullah/Geechee Nation native, Latrese Bush of Bluffton, SC is truly the lady of love songs! Latrese has shot one of the most beautiful music videos on the air in the midst of the Sea Islands that gave her the love that she sings about.
Latrese is currently touring and wanted to give her fans a song for the summer which she released in the midst of Black Music Month. "Love I Can Sing About" is an outstanding addition to the line up of songs of love and upliftment that she released on her EP, "The Best." Tuning in to her music truly keeps love in you heart and dancing in your feet.
Tune in as Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation interviews Latrese Bush on Gullah/Geechee Riddim Radio about the new release and her inspirations for creating music the loving way that she does:
VICE News will be featuring the land battles in the Gullah/Geechee Nation on an upcoming episode to conclude 2015.
Greetings,
The response to help save the Gullah land has been very poor. Even some of the Gullah descendants aren't responding to the cry of their people to preserve their land. Without the land the culture is done. Gullah culture is African culture mixed in with a little bit, not much, of Native American and European culture. But I think the issue is that most of you are ignorant as to what is culture. Pretty much like I was at one point in my life. Culture is the way a people does a thing. That sounds simple and that's the best way to give a definition is to stick with the simple one. But to get to the substance of culture, it is much more than just the way people do things, culture is life. Like how would you survive if there was no water and you have to go to the river to get water? How would you carry that water? Seeing we need water to drink, bath, wash clothes, clean the house, wash dishes, and we need water to push waste through sewage. Women invented jugs, they took clay and formed that clay into jugs many lifetimes ago to carry precious water back to their villages. The art of making jugs was taught to the children. That is culture passed on. The art of planting seeds so that food could grow that is culture. The making of clothing so we don't go around naked that is culture. The art of cleaning, cooking meat and preparing food is culture. All of the country living skills, all of the living off grid knowledge is culture. At the heart of every culture is Mama.
Do you know what would happen to civilization if the economy collapses and no one knows how to survive? Many people would die and children will suffer. There's a story of two old women abandoned by their tribe in ice cold region of Alaska. The tribe was nomadic and they traveled with the season. Along the way they got tired of these two old women complaining, so the chief made a decision to leave them behind because they were a burden. Well these two old women survived and lived to save the tribe. How did they do it? It's because the two old women knew how to hunt, store food, make traps, make hats, gloves and coats that many of the young people in the tribe just didn't know. Go check out the story, it is an amazing story. You can go to the library and get this book. I recommend that you read it so you can understand culture and survival.
I love the story of the two old women because it is very enlightening. We should never abandon our elders, our women, or our youth. Don't abandon the Gullah culture, it is the last authentic African culture among us. The Gullah's hunt, fish, make baskets, preserve food, they farm, they grow rice, they make clothes, they make drums, they create festivals, they make music and create plays, they blacksmith, they totally live off grid. The knowledge contained by the Gullah's is the most valuable knowledge we as African Americans need in this time. The economy is going to collapse and with it all your means of surviving with it. You won't be able to go to the grocery for food, the shelf will be empty. And when food does come into the store the prices will be more than most can afford. Go study the great depression or economic collapse in other nations, see what I'm telling is truth or not. I despise people who dismiss truth just because it's not them that's telling it. There's far too much ego among us, mostly the men, which is the typical story of how Africa fell. Warring male ego.
Mainly the Gullahs were women who didn't want their children being slaves. Most of the people who fought slavery and organized as maroons were women. Blackmen did mostly what they are doing today, fighting with each other or fighting with Whites. The men saw the importance of war and being strong, but the neglected the cultural aspect. Without the culture the maroons could not have survived in the woods. Without the herbal medicine you would get sick and die in the woods from snake bite, fever, etc. The women saw the importance of the maintaining the culture and Her Majesty Queen Quet dedicated herself so much to the cause, that when the Gullahs formed a nation, they crowned Margaret Goodwine Robinson, aka Queen Quet, as their Queen. This is not a fairy tale story this is a real story.
The Gullahs are still enduring and fighting to save their land. Some rich racist Whites came into the Islands some years ago. They worked their way into the county administration and changed the laws. These racist crackers increased the property taxes up 500%. This gave alot of struggling Gullah farmers huge tax bills that they have never had before. And no means to pay because they didn't live off of money they survived off of culture. Suddenly people unable to pay the taxes started losing their lands. This is what Dr. Umar Johnson speaks of when he says, "The U.S Government is behind stopping any sovereign power from rising in its midst". They don't want the Gullah culture to survive, neither do they want Black Atlanta or Black D.C to thrive. But I don't have to tell you how White Supremacy works because you know already. The joy in this story is that we have beat them before and we will beat them again. We need your material support to keep the land.
On the land the Gullah culture continues they have the Gullah Traditions School which teaches various trade skills to the youth and adults looking to start their own businesses. The Gullah Gee Chee have the St. Helena Island Market, which is a ran like a traditional African market, with food vendors, entertainers, arts and craft vendors, information seminars and other services. Many of the Gullahs have businesses in fishing, boating, tour services, farming, auto mechanics, restaurants, repair services, etc. These are a very industrious people pretty much like the people of Mother Africa where there's no safety net, might I add. The Gullah Gee Chee have partnership with OyoTunji African Village Kingdom, which is the first African village in America, founded in 1970 in Gullah land. Oyotunji is an authentic Yoruba and Dahomean kingdom with its own King, Alase Oba Adefumi II, and town council called the, "Ogboni Town Council". The people take actual participation in government and are encouraged to do so. This isn't an experimental government, Oyotunji is based upon 2000 years of Oyo Empire history, it has a very sophisticated constitution. Yet it is into the bosom of the Gullah Gee Chee that His Royal Majesty Oba Adefumni I, placed the precious seed of Oyotunji. Oyotunji has full temples dedicated to the Orishas like Sango, Ogun, Osun, Oya, Orunmila, Esu, Egun, Obatala, Yemaya, Ogboni, etc. Oyotunji has Oyo institutions, an university, market, farmland, businesses, library, shops, residential areas, palace and government buildings. But despite, I doubt, if Oyotunji would have survived without the Gullah Gee Chee. We have the Gullahs to thank for alot of things that we don't mention or even know. Please donate now to save the land of the Gullah Gee Chee culture.
Pale Skins' Threats Against Land of Gullah Geechee Blacks
Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation is one of the voices featured in this piece that was shot in South Carolina and in Georgia. Although the site uses the word “vanishing,” the piece will highlight why Gullah/Geechees are fighting back to insure that their culture is continuing!
#BlackMusicMonth St. Helena’s Own Gullah/Geechee Artist GwenYvette
by Gullah/Geechee Nation
Gullah/Geechee Riddim Radio annually celebrates Black Music Month. The Gullah/Geechee Nation has truly produced numerous artists that have continued to contribute to Black music worldwide. One such vocalist from historic St. Helena Island is indie artist, GwenYvette.
Since that interview, she shot and released the music video for the song. The video was shot in the Beaufort, SC National Landmark Historic District in the Gullah/Geechee Nation.
GwenYvette is currently preparing to hit the stage of Penn Center's Darrah Hall on July 9th for the "Soul Serenade with GwenYvette and Friends." After that, her next stop will be to the stage in Charleston, SC as she headlines as the featured artist for the "Gullah/Geechee Nation International Music & Movement Festival™" which showcases native Gullah/Geechee artist and artisans each year. At both events, audience members will be able to pick up autographed CDs from St. Helena's Soul Songstress GwenYvette and they will no doubt be "So in Love" with the new single that they will join us in waiting to hear the release date for the full CD which is entitled "Beyond the Wall."
Purchase your tickets and family passes now to have a front row seat for the soulful sounds at the "Gullah/Geechee Nation International Music & Movement Festival™:"
It was a blessings to have the opportunity to celebrate the many facets of the sea with my fellow members of the Gullah/Geechee Fishing Association on World Oceans Day. If there have been any people that could speak to the accuracies and inaccuracies of reports about our coast, these sisters and brothers have been able to do so. Our people have been on the Sea Islands since the 1600s consistently continuing the African traditions of harvesting from the sea so we have become quite acquainted with water and what a blessing and what a threat it can be. We do all that we can to nurture ourselves from these waters, but to also nurture the coastline in order to help heal the waters of the sea.
In my lifetime, I have witnessed some of the most beautiful creatures emerge along side large and small vessels as we sail. I have also witnessed a drowning. I feel the spirits of my ancestors at the shore and I am blessed by the full water baptisms each time another Gullah/Geechee is submerged. I have taken submarine journeys that made me respect the ocean all the more and I have helped replant our oyster beds in order to assist them with being able to regenerate their families and have another generation of them here. I am thankful that I can see the connections in all of these things to the generations of Gullah/Geechees that live along the Intercoastal Waterway. I enjoy seeing each one of my folks that I encounter whenever I get to the ocean.
My spirit gets dehydrated at times no matter where I am and the ocean or at least a body of water seems to call me to it. When I get to the water, the dehydration is quenched. This week is a critical time for carefully going to the water since June 8th is World Oceans Day, this is Rip Current Awareness Week, and this is US Fishing Week. For the Gullah/Geechee Fishing Association members, we need no special celebration to go to the waterways, but having these going on seem to lift the boats and our spirits even higher than usual!
Given that we have already had two tropical storms and the official hurricane season is only a few days into its beginning, the weather broadcasters have issued rip current warnings numerous times already. Many people do not realize that even the best swimmers can drown in rip currents so when the warnings are issued, folks should stay away from the water!
When the tides smooth out once again like they have done this week since the last storm passed over, we encourage people to go down to the shorelines and on the way, clean some debris and trash that humans may have left behind from it before it ends up in the ocean or our creeks. Also, make sure to use environmentally friendly cleaners on their boats and crab traps and such when taking them out into the waters to fish in celebration with our partners at the US Fish & Wildlife Service this week or at any given time thereafter. Most of all, take some time to go to the ocean and pay homage to the Africans that came to the shore by force, but then made this their home. Like the tides, the culture that they created continues to flow along the coastline of the Gullah/Geechee Nation and it is a blessing to be peacefully in the midst of it with those still holdin pun de culcha fa sho pun de sho!
Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) is a founding member and secretary of the Gullah/Geechee Fishing Association (www.gullahgeecheefishing.net). Some St. Helena members of the group gathered together to plan the annual Gullah/Geechee Seafood Festival and the summer of activities educating the community on seafood and safety in the sea.
Join the Gullah/Geechee Fishing Association (www.gullahgeecheefishing.net) at their biennial "Gullah/Geechee Seafood Festival" on October 22, 2016 from Noon to 6 pm at the Hunting Island Nature Center on Hunting Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation.
(Enter) Pan-African Family Empowerment Network “Connecting & Empowering All Branches of Our African Family Tree.”
A Vanishing History: Gullah Geechee Nation
Queen Quet at the Beach
“Encroachment,” by Pete Marovich.
1. Things ain’t looking too good for the home team: Gullah/Geechee famliles like Eddie Grant, Jr.’s on Hilton Head Island, (left), have been able to keep their land. But many other families near them have fallen like dominoes in the face of upscale development, gentrification, and skyrocketing property taxes.
2. If land rich, but cash poor Gullah/Geechee families lose the land passed down to them by their ancestors, they face becoming homeless, or permanently displaced because they simply can’t afford to replace the highly-coveted land they’ve lived on for generations.
3. Your donation will provide seed money for creating a long-term financial solution to Gullah/Geechee land retention. Fish frys; bake sales; yard sales; dinners; raffles; non-renewable timber harvesting; and the sale of agricultural products and seafood just won’t be enough to cover ever-increasing future tax assessments.
4. An Annual Taxpayer Lottery will be established to give one-time, one-year tax payment grants to allow Gullah/Geechee households to transition to paying their taxes in installments. That will prevent them from ever facing the possibly of the sale of their land at a Delinquent Tax Sale or auction! No fees will be charged to enter the Taxpayer Lottery. But entrants must take a taxpayer class, and save two installment payments on their taxes to be eligible.
5. You can help reverse the flood of African-American land loss: In 1910, Blacks owned an estimated 15-million acres of farmland, and between 3-million and 4-million non-farm acres of land. But by 1997, their farmland ownership plummeted to just 2.4-million acres, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. In 1999, the Agriculture, Economics, and Land Ownership Survey of the USDA arm of the Census Bureau, found just 68,000 rural Black landowners with 7.7-million acres of land, or less than 1% of all privately held land in the U.S.!
6. Much-needed support and referral services for families in need of legal assistance will be funded by your donations.
7. Displaced families will receive help with relocation to affordable housing.
8. Homes and land lost during Delinquent Tax Sales will be redeemed and kept by their original owners.
9. Property owners will be educated about various methods of saving to pay their taxes; lowering their taxes; tax exemptions; and how to apply for Installment Property Tax Payments where they’re allowed by state law and county ordinances.
10. You’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you’ve helped to preserve Gullah/Geechee land for present and future generations.
For all of the reasons above and more, this is a worthy cause! So hurry and make your tax-deductible donation today! IF YOU”RE LOOKING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE–THIS IS IT!!!!
To read more about how PAFEN is helping Gullah/Geechee landowners right now, click here: ‘Our Angel’: New group seeks to help Gullah families reclaim their property.
All your donations are tax deductible, whether you use the donate button below or choose to donate on our GoFundMe page. The only difference is that you can choose to make your donation publicly displayed on the GoFundMe page. If you use the donate button below (in the footer), the receipt for your tax-deductible donation will be sent to your email address. Donations of every size are greatly appreciated!!
