Numbering some 500,000 speakers of Gullah, a creole language many regard as the African American mother tongue, the Gullah people embody the purest manifestation of African American culture still in practice in North America today. This is the first Gullah-edited work of its order, combining fiction, nonfiction and social commentary with the history of the people. As such, it marks an historic turning point in Gullah development, indicating Gullah readiness to self-define in relation to the contemporary mainstream, to promote their culture, their views, their history, and the social issues that concern them.
“A fine and loving tribute to the Gullah People” VERTAMAE GROSVENOR, NPR.
Marquetta L. Goodwine, officially Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, a native of St. Helena Island, South Carolina, is the official spokesperson for Gullah/Geechees. In 1999 she became the first Gullah to speak before the United Nations, giving testimony at an April 1 hearing of the Commission on Human Rights in Switzerland. She is presently visiting professor at the University of Minnesota