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African-American heritage highlights
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Though the historical perspective on African-American heritage in Brunswick & The Golden Isles of Georgia begins in colonial times, it is the slave-holding era, once prevalent here and throughout the South, from which the bulk of documentation exists. Today, in the preservation and celebration of customs and cultures, there is growing recognition of the African-American contributions made to our collective heritage.
The African-American cultural experience is heightened and continually enhanced through the talents and works of the African-American writers, artists, performers and restaurateurs who call this area home. |
The Gullah/Geechee Connection |
The similarities and characteristics that link the cultures of Georgia's sea islands and the Windward Rice Coast of West Africa are generally referred to as the "Gullah Connection."
Gullah dialects, which combine English with the languages of African tribes, emerged as a result of the complicated patterns of forced immigration and displacement that began as slaves from Africa were brought to this area. The place name Geechee, derived from the Ogeechee River near Savannah, was used to designate the language and slaves of Coastal Georgia.
Sea Island cotton and rice plantation owners sought slaves based on their "task-orientation." This meant that men and women from Africa's west coast were highly prized for their cotton and rice cultivation expertise, producing a high concentration of slaves along Georgia's coast who possessed common ancestors, customs and languages.
Since speaking in their native African tongue was typically forbidden, Gullah/Geechee allowed slaves at least one small act of freedom- communicating with each other, in words and song, in a way which was accepted, yet not understood, by their masters. Today, the influence of Gullah/Geechee is evident in many of the distinctive dialects of southerners. |
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The Wanderer-Georgia's Last Slave Ship |
The vessel Wanderer, built as a racing schooner in 1857, achieved instead a notorious record in the brutal and illegal transport of slaves to America.
At 114 feet in length and 234 tons, the Wanderer was built for speed, winning her first regatta off the coast of Brunswick in 1858. Soon afterwards, the vessel was sold to William Corrie of Charleston, South Carolina, who, seeing a profit to be made in the outlawed slave trade, outfitted her for human cargo.
In September of 1858, aided by its owner's trickery and deceit, the Wanderer sailed to the west coast of Africa and took on board some 490 slaves. With the speed to elude capture, the Wanderer reached American waters off Georgia's Cumberland Island in November of that year and disgorged its cargo of slaves onto nearby Jekyll Island. Having received a large payment for the slaves (perhaps as much as $600 each), Corrie totally refurbished the vessel and outfitted her as a pleasure craft.
The Wanderer subsequently changed hands; first to Charles Lamar and then to David Martin, both of whom sought to profit by returning the craft to illegal slave-trading. However, the outbreak of the Civil War saw the Wanderer seized by the Union Army and outfitted with deck guns. Her huge fresh water tanks and remarkable speed, once so important to success in transporting slaves, were now used to supply blockade ships and for dispatching urgent messages. After the war, the Wanderer was briefly used in the West Indian fruit trade until she crashed against the rocks of Cape Maisi in Cuba in 1871 and sank.
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The Georgia Sea Island Singers |
Preserving a fragile part of the South's heritage in song through the generations has been a labor of love for the Georgia Sea Island Singers. The original Singers, members of the Armstrong, Davis, Ramsey, Morrison, and Proctor families, were descendants of slaves who lived on local plantations. They were joined by Mrs. Bessie Jones, and later by Doug and Frankie Quimby of Brunswick.
The Georgia Sea Island Singers have carried their songs, games and storytelling to virtually every state in the country and have performed before Presidents and other world leaders. Through their music, these gifted performers describe the world of their own slave ancestors, occupying that rare and powerful point where music still carries profound meaning for the singer and listener.
These highlights are by no means intended to fully represent the complete scope of African-American cultural heritage in Brunswick & The Golden Isles of Georgia.
If you have information regarding our area's African-American heritage, legends and lore, please send a letter to The Brunswick-Golden Isles Visitors Bureau so that future literature on this subject may be more complete.
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PHOTO CREDITS:
DIDO; NEPTUNE SMALL'S HOUSE: Orrin Sage Whiteman, "Early Days of Coastal Georgia," University of Georgia Press, Athens, GA 1955
THE WANDERER; RED ROW: Jekyll Island Museum |
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