Sweetgrass & Survival: The Long History of the Gullah Geechee In South Carolina
This Installment In Our Series On South Carolina History Explores One of The Deepest Rooted Cultures In The State, One That Continues To Shape The Low Country Today
South Carolina’s story couldnt be told without the Gullah Geechee people. These descendants of enslaved West Africans, many of whom settled along our state’s coastal plains and Sea Islands, have left a mark that’s deeper than many realize. From the Lowcountry’s signature cuisine and dialect to the very layout of our rice fields, the Gullah Geechee community helped build and define the Palmetto State. Their story isn’t just one of survival—it’s one of ingenuity, creativity, and lasting cultural influence. You’ve seen their work in Charleston’s ironworks, tasted it in kitchens across the state, and heard echoes of it in old hymns or Southern phrases passed down from your grandparents.
Most of the Africans who would become the Gullah Geechee people were brought to the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia from the Rice Coast of West Africa, particularly present-day Sierra Leone, Senegal, Gambia, and Liberia. These regions were preferred by European slave traders because the people there sold slaves with expertise in rice cultivation—a skill highly prized by white planters in the Lowcountry in the Carolinas and Georgia. Most of these individuals were captured during regional conflicts or raids by local warlords and sold into slavery through African trade networks. From there, they were sold to European traders, loaded onto ships, and sailed across the Atlantic. Once in the Charleston, they were sold to plantation owners and city-dwelling elites, and put to work, where their shared language, cultural practices, and agricultural knowledge laid the foundation for the unique Gullah Geechee culture that endures today.
When South Carolina was still young, it was Gullah Geechee people who transformed swampy marshland into fertile rice plantations. These weren’t just field hands; they became engineers and farmers who knew exactly how to work with tides, dikes, and canals. Their skills helped make “Carolina Gold” the colony’s greatest export and turned Charleston into one of the wealthiest cities in British America.
Sweetgrass baskets, now iconic Lowcountry folk art, were originally agricultural tools—used for winnowing rice and based in West African tradition. Those living in slave huts were seldom afforded the luxery of plates or decoration, so the Gullah would fashion their own from sweetgrass and the fronds of palmetto trees. You’ll find them today at Charleston’s market and roadside stands, each one beautifully hand-coiled with skills passed down over hundreds of years.
On the Sea Islands and in remote Lowcountry communities, the Gullah Geechee created a culture that preserved their roots while adapting to the new world. They built praise houses to worship Jesus Christ in their unique way - clapping, shouting, and singing spirituals created over generations in the fields. They speak a creole language known as Gullah, a blend of English/African dialects and syntax. This language, still spoken today, shaped not only how Gullah families spoke to each other, but how dialects evolved throughout the State.
What we now call “Soul food” owes more to Gullah kitchens than most people realize. Staples like okra, sesame, watermelon, yams, and black-eyed peas all came to South Carolina from Africa. African cooks were masters of one-pot dishes and seasoning techniques, giving us red rice, stewed okra, Hoppin’ John, and the iconic seafood boils we know and love. These dishes were born in slave cabins and Plantation Houses by women making do with what they could get their hands on. In South Carolina, whether you’re at a fish fry, oyster roast, or just having Sunday Dinner, there’s a very good chance you’re eating something rooted in Gullah tradition.
In early South Carolina, local seafood fare like shrimp, blue crab, and oysters, while plentiful, were often dismissed by wealthy white colonists as lowly pauper food—fit only for slaves, prisoners, and poor whites. But it was precisely in the hands of enslaved cooks, particularly those in the Gullah Geechee community, that these ingredients were transformed into deeply flavorful, soul-hugging dishes. Drawing on a talent with seasoning and slow cooking, they turned overlooked coastal critters into staples of Carolina kitchens. Over time, their recipes and techniques began to influence the broader Southern palate, gradually shifting perceptions and helping to normalize local seafood among white South Carolinians. Today, many beloved Lowcountry dishes—from shrimp and grits to crab rice and brown oyster stew—owe their existence to the creativity, resilience, and culinary genius of those people who made the most of what others disregarded.
The Gullah Geechee people weren’t just cultural stewards—they were also pioneers of education and civic life. In 1862, the Penn School opened on St. Helena Island as one of the first schools for freed African Americans in the South. That same year, Robert Smalls, a Beaufort-born Gullah man, commandeered a Confederate ship in Charleston harbor and delivered it to the Union. He went on to serve in Congress and helped make public education a right in South Carolina as a delegate to the convention drafting the States new constitution. During the Civil Rights era, Gullah figures like Esau Jenkins and Septima Clark led the charge for voter education through grassroots “Citizenship Schools,” teaching neighbors how to read and register to vote right from the backs of buses and grocery stores. Their legacy isn’t just in folklore—it’s baked into our state’s laws and public institutions.
The Port Royal Experiment was a groundbreaking effort during the Civil War to help formerly enslaved people transition to freedom and self-reliance. After Federal forces captured the Sea Islands of South Carolina in 1861, local planters fled, leaving behind thousands of enslaved African Americans—most of whom were Gullah Geechee—who had long preserved their traditions through isolation. Northern abolitionists, missionaries, and educators came to the region to establish schools, hospitals, and farming ventures, with the goal of proving that freed Black people could thrive as independent citizens. The Gullah Geechee played a vital role in the success of the experiment, bringing agricultural knowledge, cultural cohesion, and strong community networks that enabled the development of a new model for freedom.
Gullah music has shaped the sound of America. From the spirituals sung in praise houses to the rhythms that inspired gospel, jazz, and hip-hop, Gullah musical roots run deep. The Jenkins Orphanage Band in Charleston trained young black musicians, many from Gullah families, in brass and jazz, sending them across the country and to the White House to perform. The dance known as “The Charleston” originated with Gullah dancers and musicians in the city’s dance halls. Even “Kumbaya,” a spiritual that became an anthem of the Civil Rights movement, comes from Gullah words meaning “Come by Here, Lord.” Today, Grammy-winning groups like Ranky Tanky are bringing old music back to life with modern flair.
Over time, artists and scholars began to recognize Gullah culture as one of the most distinctive African American traditions in the U.S. Painters like Jonathan Green and basket weavers like Mary Jackson earned national recognition. The late Philip Simmons, Charleston’s Master Blacksmith, crafted intricate and breathtaking iron gates that still decorate homes and churches across the state. The Penn Center on Saint Helena Island became a retreat for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders, offering them a quiet place in the heart of Gullah country. In 2006, Congress officially designated the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, a four-state region celebrating their enduring legacy. That corridor runs right through South Carolina, marking sites from Hilton Head to Georgetown where Gullah heritage lives on.
One of the most prominent voices preserving Gullah Geechee culture today is Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah Geechee Nation. Born Marquetta L. Goodwine on St. Helena Island, she was elected by the Gullah Geechee community in 2000 as the first official “head-of-state” for the Gullah/Geechee people. She has since become a global ambassador for their history, language, and land rights, testifying before Congress and the United Nations. She played a pivotal role in helping to establish the federally recognized Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, and continues to educate through public speaking, writing, and performance. Through her work with the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition, which she founded, Queen Quet has fought tirelessly against coastal overdevelopment, cultural erasure in the region, benefiting all South Carolinians.
Today, the Gullah revival is thriving. From the Sweetgrass Festival in Mount Pleasant to the Gullah Festival in Beaufort, to the local soul food diner on the corner, the Gullah Geechee people continue to share their stories, food, songs, and crafts with pride. Chefs like BJ Dennis are bringing Gullah cooking to new audiences, while elders like the late Emily Meggett passed down traditional recipes in treasured cookbooks. Gullah heritage has shaped so much of what we cherish about South Carolina — our rhythms, our flavors, our hospitality, and our resilience. Yet this living legacy is under threat. Rapid overdevelopment and waves of Northerner migration are pressuring historic Gullah communities, as developers exploit legal loopholes in heirs property law to buy up ancestral land at a discount. These predatory tactics often require costly and specialized legal help to resist — a barrier many families cannot overcome. Without urgent protection, entire Geechee communities risk being erased in the name of progress.
The Gullah Geechee people didn’t just write a part of South Carolina history—they are an ingredient of the very ink in which it was written. Through war and peace, slavery and freedom, poverty and pride, they built a culture that has endured for centuries. Their traditions have shaped the way we eat, speak, worship, and celebrate. They’ve given us art, music, storytelling, and a sense of place that’s entirely their own. And they’ve done it all with strength, grace, and a quiet brilliance that continues to shine today. If you want to taste the “Soul” of South Carolina, look to the Gullah Geechee.
Very interesting and important for us living here to know about their part of SC history. I've been to the Penn center..it's where Martin Luther King wrote "I have a dream..."