Gullah facts for kids
The Gullah (also called Geechee) are a special group of people in the United States. They are the descendants of enslaved Africans who lived in the Lowcountry areas of Georgia and South Carolina. They lived on the mainland and also on the Sea Islands.
The Gullah people were able to keep many parts of their African culture. But they were also influenced by North American culture. The Gullah people speak a unique creole language. It is based on English, but it also has many words from African languages.
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The Gullah Story
The name "Gullah" might come from Angola, a country in Africa. Some of the Gullah people's ancestors likely came from there. They created a new culture from many different African groups brought to Charleston and South Carolina. Other experts think the name comes from other ethnic groups in Africa.
How Gullah Culture Began
For thousands of years, people along the western coast of Africa grew a special kind of rice called African rice. When British planters found out that rice could grow well in the American South, they wanted enslaved Africans from that region. These Africans were taken from West Africa, especially from what is now Sierra Leone. They were brought to the Americas and traded in Charlestowne, South Carolina. These skilled African farmers brought their knowledge of farming and irrigation (how to water crops).
Gullah culture has parts of many different African cultures. The Gullah people could keep much of their African culture for a few reasons. The climate and land in their new home were similar to Africa. Also, enslaved people lived in large groups and did not have much contact with white people.
The enslaved Africans also brought diseases like malaria and yellow fever. These diseases spread to English and European settlers because the area has a subtropical climate. Africans had more immunity to these diseases. Many white planters left the area during seasons when the diseases were more common. African or European "rice drivers," who were overseers, were left in charge of the farms.
The Civil War and Freedom
During the U.S. Civil War, white planters on the Sea Islands worried about attacks from the U.S. Navy. They left their farms and moved to the mainland. When Union soldiers arrived on the Sea Islands in 1861, the Gullah people wanted their freedom. Many Gullahs joined the Union Army. The Sea Islands were the first place in the South where enslaved people were freed. Even before the war ended, missionaries came to start schools for the newly freed people.
After the Civil War, the Gullah people became more separated from the outside world. This happened because the rice planters on the mainland left their farms and moved away. The Gullahs continued to practice their traditional culture with little outside influence until the 20th century.
Gullah Culture Today
In 2006, the U.S. Congress passed a law called the "Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Act." This law provides money to help protect Gullah historic places. The Heritage Corridor stretches from southern North Carolina to northern Florida.
The Gullah people still have their traditional culture. Their traditions have survived in the Lowcountry mainland and on the Sea Islands. They are also found in cities like Charleston and Savannah, Georgia. Gullah people who have moved far away have also kept their traditions. In the summer, they often send their children back to rural communities in South Carolina and Georgia. There, the children live with grandparents, uncles, and aunts.
Famous Americans with Gullah Roots
- Joe Frazier (a famous boxer)
- Michelle Obama (former First Lady of the United States)
- Chris Rock (a well-known comedian and actor)
- Clarence Thomas (a Supreme Court Justice)
Images for kids
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Map of both intercontinental and transatlantic slave trade in Africa
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Bunce Island, a historical slave port where the ancestors of many Gullah departed to the Lowcountry
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Gullah basket
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A Fourth of July celebration. St. Helena Island, South Carolina (1939)
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Coffin Point Praise House, 57 Coffin Point Rd, St. Helena Island, South Carolina
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Old City Market shed entrance along Church Street in Charleston. The vendors on the left are selling Gullah sweetgrass baskets. (2010)
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"Old plantation" (1790) demonstrates the cultural retention of Gullah people with aspects such as the banjo and broom hopping.
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Wooden mortar and pestle from the rice loft of a South Carolina lowcountry plantation
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Sea Island red peas, an heirloom variety of cowpeas grown by the Gullah
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Sweet grass baskets made and sold by the African American Gullah community can be found throughout City Market.
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Gullah sweet baskets from Edisto island
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A Gullah house painted in the color of Haint Blue
