{"id":9238,"date":"2022-02-03T08:17:35","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T13:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?p=9238"},"modified":"2022-02-03T08:17:36","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T13:17:36","slug":"saving-gullah-geechee-cultural-heritage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/2022\/02\/03\/saving-gullah-geechee-cultural-heritage\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Political science major Rachal Phillips (left) and elementary education major Leah Mikell (right) have been awarded the Cultural Heritage Center\u2019s first scholarships, funded by the Quarterman & Keller Foundation Inc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Georgia Southern University is involved in efforts to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of the Gullah Geechee people. They are descendants of West Africans who were enslaved on the barrier islands of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and northern Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The collective cultural memory of the Gullah Geechee people has survived through oral histories and distinctive arts, music, dance, foodways and language. However, few within the Gullah Geechee community today can speak their unique African Creole language or tell the stories of their ancestors who are credited with influencing Southern and American culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, Georgia Southern has established the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center to aid in the preservation of this fluctuating culture, honor the myriad contributions made by Gullah Geechee people and provide educational resources for faculty, students and the surrounding community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to increase awareness about the Gullah Geechee culture and to celebrate it,\u201d said Maxine Bryant, Ph.D, director of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center. \u201cWe want to allow a space for the Gullah Geechee community to come together and problem-solve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The center will be located on the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and have a presence on the Statesboro Campus within the Department of Africana Studies. Bryant and her team are also designing a curriculum with the College of Education that is centered in Gullah Geechee culture for teacher training. There will be opportunities for professional development for public school teachers, employers and other entities with similar curriculum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Political science major Rachal Phillips (left) and elementary education major Leah Mikell (right) have been awarded the Cultural Heritage Center\u2019s first scholarships, funded by the Quarterman & Keller Foundation Inc. Georgia Southern University is involved in efforts to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of the Gullah Geechee people. They are descendants of West Africans […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":9241,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[67],"class_list":["post-9238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-winter-2022"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t