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"G" is for Gullah

South Carolina From A to Z
SC Public Radio

"G" is for Gullah. The term “Gullah, “ or “Geechee,” describes a unique group of African Americans descended from Africans settled on the Sea Islands of the lowcountry of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina. The origin of the term “Gullah” (in South Carolina) is uncertain. Some believe it derives from “Angola”; others think it refers to the Gola people of Liberia and Sierra Leone. The term “Geechee” (in Georgia) may come from the Ogeechee River; or it may refer to the Kissi/Geesi people of Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. The process of combining different African peoples and languages in the lowcountry led to the emergence of Gullah or Geechee as a common language. The Gullah/Geechee people continue to manifest unique African cultural attributes that have survived for more than three centuries.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.