The exhibit “Land & Legacy: Gullah Geechee Roots in HBCUs” will debut at Penn Center’s 40th Annual Heritage Days Celebration on November 7 – 9, 2024 in St. Helena Island. The exhibit explores the importance of land to Gullah Geechee people and the HBCU connections to Penn Center and the Gullah Geechee Corridor. A community conversation will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, November 8. SC Humanities supported this project with a Mini Grant.
“Land & Legacy: Gullah Geechee Roots in HBCUs” is a curated student exhibit coordinated by Tendaji Bailey, founder of the Gullah Geechee Futures Project. Students from HBCUs around South Carolina contributed to the exhibit, which looks at how HBCUs emerged shortly after the creation of Penn Center during the Reconstruction Era. Many students who graduated from Penn Center enrolled in HBCUs across the country. Notably, York W. Bailey, for whom Penn Center’s museum is named, graduated from Howard University and returned to St. Helena Island, where he served as the sole physician for the Gullah community. South Carolinians Mary McLeod Bethune and Benjamin Elijah Mays dedicated their lives to ensuring the success of HBCUs. These and other stories will be highlighted throughout the exhibit.
A “Land and Legacy” community conversation will take place on Friday, November 8 at 2:00 p.m. in Darrah Hall. It is free and open to the public. Panelists will include Sara Green, Founder/CEO of Marshvew Community Organic Farm, Inc.; Jaye Divine, Founder/CEO of STARD (Supporters for Tyson’s Ancestral Restrictions of the Deeds); Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation; Jazz Watts, Commissioner of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor; and Fred Lincoln, Jack Primus Community of Wando.
The Penn Center is located on the campus of the former Penn School, one of the nation’s first schools for formerly enslaved people. The historic and cultural organization is one of the most significant African American institutions in existence today and is a National Historic Landmark District. Their mission is to promote and preserve Penn’s true history and culture through its commitment to education, community development and social justice. Learn more: https://www.penncenter.com/.
The Annual Heritage Days Celebration is the longest-running Gullah Geechee celebration. The theme for the 40th anniversary event is “Growing by Leaps and Bounds: Preserving Gullah Geechee Culture.” The program schedule includes performances, a heritage symposium, a parade, a fish fry, and more. The full schedule is available on the Penn Center website here: https://www.penncenter.com/heritage-days.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c)3 organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos, and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually. South Carolina Humanities receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as corporate, foundation and individual donors. The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
