Nearly 500,000 Gullah/Geechee people inhabit a 500 mile stretch between Jacksonville, North Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida today. A large number of these Gullah people live in rural areas on the Sea Islands which are located off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. But where did these people come from?

The Gullah/Geechee people are descendants of African slaves that were brought to Charleston in the late 1500’s. When the slaves that were brought to the Carolina Colony were captured, they were placed in prison cells along the West African coast line. In these prisons, the slaves were introduced to Africans from different tribes and regions. Ultimately, this was the beginning of the Gullah people; the intermingling of the variety of African backgrounds as well as the different dialects spoken created a new space for the slaves to come together and uphold their African culture as best as they could within the circumstances.