'Keeper of the culture' joins new Gullah panel

The Post and Courier

Louise Miller Cohen remembers when the bridge was built onto Hilton Head Island in 1956, and how not long afterward, newcomers mocked the Gullah language as "broken English" or worse.

She felt a sense of shame that she carried with her for decades, and she deliberately changed her speech.

Then, about 11 years ago, Hilton Head Island began to celebrate the Gullah culture, and around the same time, Cohen realized it could vanish one day.

"That me woke up," she said, adding that she can speak Gullah, do the ring shout and cook in the traditional way. "It became a calling. I had to do everything."

She now refers to herself as the "Keeper of the Gullah Geechee Culture" and is one of six South Carolinians who will serve as the first commissioners of the Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor.

On Monday morning, the National Park Service will hold the first public event to introduce her and the other commissioners at the Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston.

The commission includes eight members — two each from South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida —chosen by the Park Service for their expertise in preservation, anthropology and folklore. It also includes four others from South Carolina nominated by the state historic preservation officer.

At the urging of U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., Congress created the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor last year to recognize the language, arts, religious beliefs, cooking and folklore of Africans and African-Americans who settled within 30 miles of the coast between Wilmington, N.C., and Jacksonville, Fla.

Recent interviews with all six of South Carolina's new commissioners showed they have a long, varied list of the current threats to the culture, but they also are optimistic they can make a difference.

The challenges include: A sense of shame; apathy among the younger generation; environmental pressures; rising land prices and an erosion of family lands.

Commissioner William Saunders of Johns Island said the culture evolved among those tied to the Lowcountry's creeks and woods, but it's tougher to get access today.

"The folk have bought up the land and fenced it off. It's almost all gone," he said. "I hope there's some place that we can bring that back again."

Commissioner Willie Heyward, who runs the Heirs Property Law Center in North Charleston, and Commissioner Emory S. Campbell agreed that the dwindling landholdings among Gullah residents pose a major threat.

Campbell said the commission may begin a dialogue with local governments about ways to protect land and address taxes. "I think the greatest challenge, I believe, is going to be the family land preservation, preserving the family land base," he said. "Traditions get passed down from generation to generation."

Commissioner Marquetta L. Goodwine, also known as Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah-Geechee nation, said she also hopes the corridor project will lead to education programs that will help Gullah families retain and reclaim their traditional land.

"The commission does not need to create places of its own or items that will not directly benefit the people," she added.

Commissioner Ronald Daise, who helped develop a Gullah education program at Brookgreen Gardens, said land issues aren't the only obstacle.

"I think a great threat to the Gullah Geechee culture is a lack of understanding among the younger generation of the significance of our culture," he said. "Once the youth are aware of our significance, they will more wholeheartedly appreciate it."

Daise said commissioners will need to be sensitive that the culture varies along the coast. "There are differences that communities in Georgia want to emphasize, but they may not be emphasized in communities in Florida and South Carolina," he said.

Saunders said he hopes the commission can do more than preserve the culture.

"I don't use the term 'preserve,' because to me, anytime you preserve something, you've killed the damn thing. You've put it in a corner. You've put it in a jar," he said. "I'd like to see the culture thrive again. I don't just want 30 acres over here where tourists can see something. I'd like to see the culture have a rebirth and strive again."

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postand courier.com.