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Hillary Taylor
El 30 de abril, 2010
Poverty Studies
The Gullah People and Their Poverty
In from January 19th, 1994 through May 5th, 1997, Nickelodeon Studios
premiered the children’s TV series “Gullah Gullah Island.”1 The show
portrayed an African American family staring Ron and Natailie Daise. A
couple in real life, these two adults stared as benevolent parents of three
children, caretakers of a niece, and friends of a gigantic yellow polliwog
named Binyah Binyah. The show was very popular among adults and
children, winning two “Parent’s Choice Awards.”2 Most of the episodes
featured singing, dancing, and learning. Themes on the show ranged from
“healthy eating,” “telling the truth,” “working together,” and various forms
of problem solving. In its prime, “Gullah Gullah Island” ran alongside popular
shows like “Blue’s Clues” and “Little Bear” on Nick, Jr., Nickelodeon’s
daytime children’s program.
Occasionally, my peers and I will talk about old shows from our long-lost
childhood. Inevitably, “Gullah Gullah Island” comes up as one of our most
beloved television programs. However, after many years, most of my peers
have begun pondering the show’s origins. Where is “Gullah Gullah Island”?,
1 Amazon.com, "Gullah Gullah Island," review of Gullah Gullah Island, IMDb, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177444/ (accessed May 2, 2010).
2 Jamila White & Associates, Inc., "Gullah Gullah Island," Kearse Media Solutions, http://www.gullahgullah.com/gullahisland.html (accessed May 2, 2010).
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they wonder. Was it actually a real place? And what exactly is Gullah
anyway? Is it just a geographic location? Because the show neglected to
define the word “Gullah” or inform viewers what exactly was “Gullah” about
the island, many people think the word “Gullah” is a fictitious word with little
meaning. Most people don’t realize that Gullah Gullah Island was based off
an actual group of people called the “Gullah people.”
The Gullah people are descendants of African slaves brought to work on
plantations in the southern part of the United States. It is a culture of people
ranging from Jacksonville, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida. The
preverbal focal point of Gullah people resides in the Lowcountry region of
South Carolina, specifically Beaufort, Charleston, Berkley, Dorchester,
Colleton, Horry, Hampton, Jasper, and Georgetown counties. Charleston,
South Carolina is often thought of as the home of the Gullah Culture.3 Gullah
people are also known as “Geechee” people. The words can be used
interchangeably. The names “Gullah” and “Geechee” are thought to be
drawn from two of the main tribes brought over during the slave trade: the
Gola tribe from the Angola region, and the Gizzi tribe from the Liberia region.
Though time, these two tribe names evolved into their present day forms.
For the intents of this essay, I will use the term “Gullah” as it is more popular
than the word “Geechee.”
What makes Gullah people different from other African Americans
3 Ida Johnson-Spruill et al., "Health of Gullah Families in South Carolina With Type 2 Diabetes," The Diabetes Educator 35, no. 1 (2009)
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brought to the American South? While many historical aspects can be shared
by all African slaves brought to the United States, the geographic centration
as well as later language and communal developments make Gullah people a
special historical case study. As indicated earlier, most of these slaves came
from the West African region. Besides Angola and the Liberia regions, these
slaves came mostly from what are now Bight of Biafra, Guinea, Sengambia,
and Sierra Leone.4 In 1700, the first West African slaves first came to the
South Carolina coast.5 Their jobs consisted of growing the three cash crops
for plantations along the coastal area: rice, indigo, and cotton.6 Their
welcome to the United States was not a warm one at first. Because these
slaves differed in originating geographic region, they were unable to
communicate with each other in the beginning of plantation days. Yet soon
enough, they began to use an auxiliary language (also known as a pidgin
language) of African dialects to accomplish all the plantation work.7 This
auxiliary language combined with English, the language of the plantation
owners, making it easier for this amalgam of West Africans to share and
express their experiences and varying cultures.
This process of interweaving West African and Anglo Saxon cultures
4 William Pollitzer, The Gullah People and their Heritage, (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2005), p. 60.
5 William Pollitzer, op. cit., p. 67
6 ibid, p.87, 91, 92.
7 Jesse Edward Gantt Jr. and Veronica Davis Gerald, The Ultimate Gullah Cookbook (Beaufort, SC: Sands Publishing, 2003), pg. 13. The practice of auxiliary languages was not uncommon during the slave trade. Most tribes back in Africa spoke them to accomplish business transactions and government ordinances.
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continued for the next one-hundred, sixty-five years. Then, in 1865, the
Emancipation Proclamation took effect in what was considered The
Confederate States of America four years beforehand. That same year,
General William Sherman issued what was known as “Field Order No. 15.”
This order reserved land from Charleston to Florida and 30 miles inland from
the coast for these former slaves to settle.8 It was understood that they could
go wherever they wished, but most chose to stay where they were because
they had always been responsible for maintaining they land to which they
were brought. While many had considered the land a sort of “home,” other
slaves felt inextricably tied to the land because they had had little to no
formal education with which to advance socioeconomically should they move
away. Thus, many of these slaves bought land next to each other and
established close knit communities. Once established, these slaves rarely
ventured far outside these communities. During this period of isolation, the
Gullah culture was born. These people were now living together in
community, reinforcing their sense of African descent. Their auxiliary
language began to take hold of the residents, further mixing English and
West African dialects, traditions, and ways of life.
Today, Gullah people are known for their history as slaves and their
unique crafts and icons. The most known craft of the Gullah people is
inarguably the sweetgrass basket. Sweetgrass baskets are baskets made
from sweetgrass plants found along beaches of the southeast. In the
8 William Pollitzer, op. cit., p. 67.
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Lowcountry of South Carolina, it is not uncommon to see stands selling these
baskets alongside major highways.9 Gullah people are also famous for their
other arts modeled from Africa, including earthenware pottery called “Colono
Ware,” wood carvings, beadwork, and even story quilts. Story quilts are
especially meaningful because they “communicate affection and celebrate
family history--a marriage, birth, or departure for school...it is a reminder of
the powerful ties of kinship...they are an historical record...”10 Another
famous Gullah icon is Gullah language. Through the continual use of English
and West African dialects, the Gullah people developed from a pidgin
language to a more developed, Creole language. Comparatively, Gullah
language sounds much like Haitian Creole in both spelling and harmonics.11
The dialect is now recognized as a distinct language such that the American
Bible Society has even published a bible in the Sea Island Creole.12 Other well
known Gullah icons include their unique folklore, specifically their tales about
the clever Ber Rabbit. Food is also a very famous aspect of the Gullah
culture. These West African slaves brought with them some of the most basic
cooking ingredients with them to the United States. Foods like okra,
watermelon, and peanuts are a few among the many foods they transplanted
9 Coakley, Sweetgrass Baskets and the Gullah Tradition (Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2005), pg. 47. This is an especially common site on South Carolina Highway 17 South.
10 William Pollitzer, op. cit., p. 180
11 Jamie Elizabeth Gabrini, review of Gullah Culture in America, by Wilbur Cross, The Western Journal of Black Studies 33, no. 4 (2009): pg. 296.
12 De Nyew Testament, (New York: American Bible Society, 2005). It is the official Gullah/Sea Island Creole translation.
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here in the Southeast.13 Religion also plays a large part in these people’s
lives. Gullah religion is a mix of Christianity with a few attributes from West
African religions. They believe in God, seeing themselves as the Israelites
brought into slavery and waiting for their “Moses” to deliver them. They also
heavily identify with Jesus, who’s suffering on the cross is seen much like
their suffering in slavery.14 Yet much of the West African influence on religion
comes from hexes, herbal remedies, superstitions, and the perceived magic
of root doctors, Both Christian and West African aspects are combined into
worship, rituals, and sacrifices designed to invoke God, the surrounding
spirits, or even long forgotten ancestors.15
While the roots of Gullah people were rough and jagged upon arriving to
the United States, many of those who know of the Gullah people assume that
their lifestyle is fairly prosperous. Indeed, Ron and Natalie Daise, the Gullah
parents on Gullah Gullah Island were portrayed as upper-middle class
citizens living in harmony with their neighbors and the environment.
However, this view of Gullah individuals does not represent the vast majority
of Gullah socioeconomic level. In truth, Gullah people are a people confined
in deep poverty. Not necessarily poverty in the sense of 19th century
enslavement, but a poverty of low socioeconomical status that has carried
passed the Emancipation Proclamation to the present day.
13 William Pollitzer, op. cit., p. 98.
14 ibid, p. 137, 144
15 ibid, p. 138
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One aspect of the Gullah people’s poverty lies in their rural lifestyle.
Independent Gullah communities have always existed in rural areas. After
the Civil War ended, the Charleston News and Courier reported that
plantation owners “returned to their plantations to find their houses
destroyed and in possession of former slaves.”16 Presently, most Gullah
people are small farmers selling local produce to stores or on roadside
stands. Their small farms, however, are no match by comparison to the large
government subsidized farms across the nation. Subsidized farming has left
many rural farmers in the Lowcountry without a living. This means that even
if they desired such an opportunity, Gullah people don’t have the facilities to
practice what we may call “economically marketable skills,” thus
perpetuating the cycle of unemployment. Also, apart from Charleston and the
beach front communities, there are very few industries in the Lowcountry of
South Carolina. Factories do not exist around these areas for a few different
reasons. First, a lot of the land is already used for timber, fishing, tourism,
and agriculture.17 But another reason lies in the area’s reputation as
“Hurricane Alley.” Hurricanes and tropical storms are notorious for hitting
this part of the United States. From 1851 to 2006, a total of 31 classified
hurricanes have hit South Carolina, while 20 have hit Georgia and 46 have
hit North Carolina.18 This measure does not include the dozens and dozens of
tropical storms which almost formed into hurricanes. Meteorologists can 16 ibid, p. 68.
17 Steve Mullins and John Burbage, "Litany of Disaster," in And Hugo Was His Name: Hurricane Hugo, A Diary of Destruction (Sun City West, AZ: The News and Currier, 1989), pg. 46.
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never predict the strength of these hurricanes, which aids in the lack of
development along these rural areas. Maintaining facilities against these
storms and hurricanes can be very expensive. For example: when Hurricane
Hugo hit South Carolina on September 21st, 1989, the hurricane caused over
4 billion dollars worth of damage and succeeded in “making the Lowcountry
barrier islands look like they had been bombed.”It is much safer for
developers to confine much of the area to timber industry, fishing, tourism,
and especially agriculture than to risk profit.19
Another aspect of Gullah people’s poverty is their low education. Their
enslaved ancestors never received traditional, Western education upon their
arrival to the United States. Living in isolation as rural farmers has also done
little to improve their outlook on such. Furthermore, the United States policy
of “Separate but Equal” in 1986 with Plessey vs. Ferguson did little to
facilitate a proper, equal education for African Americans across the country.
Even though the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964, little has been done to
improve education in Gullah regions. Pat Conroy echoed such observations in
his book The Water is Wide. Before writing the book, he took a teaching job
as a young adult on Dafuskie Island, an island rich with Gullah community.
Intellectually, what he found on Dafuskie Island “shook [him] to the core of
[his being]. Seven [children] couldn’t recite the alphabet. 18 thought
savannah was the largest city in the world. Savannah, Georgia was the only 18 "Frequently Asked Questions: Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Tropical Cyclones," Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E19.html (accessed May 2, 2010).
19 Steve Mullins and John Burbage, op. cit., pg. 46.
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city any of the children could name. Four children couldn’t count to ‘one.’
Three couldn’t write their names. I had stumbled into another century...If
they had lived in other parts of South Carolina, they might have gone on to
become scientists engineers scholars, artists, and writers.”20 Today, the
Gullah communities live in an area known as the “Corridor of Shame,” an
area along I-95 notorious for its poor academic performance. The fault lies
with the South Carolina’s school funding system. In South Carolina, schools
are funded through state sales taxes and local business property taxes.21
Because there are very few businesses in the South Carolina Lowcountry,
these schools within the Gullah community have little funding for adequate
teaching materials, staff, and even building maintenance and repair. Roofs
leak, plaster crumbles, and in some cases, sewage backs up into the
hallways, causing some schools to be condemned. Libraries remain in the
Stone Age, possessing books from the 1950’s and 60’s, with outdated
theories about how man will one day walk on the moon. Seventy-five percent
of these districts have “unsatisfying” ratings. And while it is unknown how
many Gullah individuals drop out of high school, the dropout rates for
“Corridor of Shame” students hovers anywhere from 46 percent to 67
percent.22
20 Pat Conroy, interview by Bud Ferillo, 2005, Corridor of Shame, http://corridorofshame.com/video/conroy.mov (accessed May 2, 2010).
21 Ferillo & Associates, Inc., "Corridor of Shame," Corridor of Shame: The Case, http://www.corridorofshame.com/ (accessed May 2, 2010).
22 Ferillo & Associates, Inc., op. cit.
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A third aspect of the Gullah people’s poverty is tied with the onset of
many social ills, namely, young unmarried mothers and gangs in the
traditional Gullah areas. Marriage within the Gullah culture and communities
is not necessarily tied to the Christian union of man and woman. Rather than
legalizing the relationship between husband and wife, these communities
don’t need approval of the state or any religion based institution. Most of the
time, parental permission is the only validation needed.23 Therefore, divorce
is rare among the Gullah people, but this does not discount the fact that the
men of these communities may float in and out of relationships. As such,
most marriages are common law. But unfortunately, because of the
nonbinding g nature of “common law,” lots of young, pregnant women are
without the adequate support of a stable husband. In a recent survey of 991
Gullah women, only 29.4% had reached beyond high school education.24 The
other 70.6% is limited to job prospects that don’t require “economically
marketable skills.” These jobs are low paying, minimum wage jobs such as
cashiers and workers at Burger King.25 The mother cannot support herself
and a child (much less several children). Therefore, the mothers are left
relying on their elder who end up having to adopt the young mother and her
child.
Gangs have also become a problem around the Gullah community.
23 William Pollitzer, op. cit., p. 130
24 Ida Johnson-Spruill et al., op. cit., p. 117.
25 David K. Shipler, The Working Poor (New York: Vintage Books, 2005), p. 291.
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While many isolated islands (such as Sandy Island) have avoided such
problems,26 many mainland communities like Hollywood, South Carolina have
been introduced to these problems. Gang activity has not been as tightly tied
to urban areas, like Charleston, as much as expected. A recent study found
that rural Colleton County (with a population of 38,000 people) had the
highest gang violence rate in the state. In 2007 alone, approximately 98
gang-related incidents were reported. An estimated 400 gang members are
predicted to be residing in the area. These individuals make up about 20
different local and national gangs. Furthermore, Charleston County ranked
among the top counties in the state for the number of jail inmates identified
as gang members.27 One can understand why such a problem should exist.
Gangs provide a means of survival in such an economically depressed area
of the state. Because employment is low, the only consistent cash flow would
be from joining a gang. These gangs are not overly violent, however. These
gangs do not use guns frequently, preferring to use their hands and fists
instead.28 That said, there have been an estimated 21 gang-related deaths
from 1998 to 2007. And the number is only increasing.
Another aspect of poverty for the Gullah people is the problem of
healthcare. At large, the African American population of the Lowcountry is
26 John D. Trespicio, "History," Tours de Sandy Island, http://www.toursdesandyisland.com/history.htm (accessed May 2, 2010).
27 Glenn Smith, "Incidence of gang violence soaring," The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC), December 10, 2009. http://www.postandcourier .com/news/2009/dec/10/incidence-of-gang-violence-soaring/
28 Glen Smith, op. cit.
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fraught with problems, some of which include hypertension, high blood
pressure, heart disease, and Type II diabetes.29 Gullah populations are also
more susceptible to stress and obesity, especially Gullah women. In the
Gullah community, women are the matriarchs. They are looked upon as the
knot that holds the family together, often being the most stable member of
the household. Elderly women function like “mammies” towards their
grandchildren, nieces, nephews, great-grandchildren, etc.30 Therefore, it’s no
wonder that they are more prone to stress and obesity. As evidence, some
aid organizations around the Gullah communities ask for donations for
people in need, especially for “large women.”31 Because Gullah communities
are rural communities, the houses and/or trailers are often dilapidated and in
desperate need of repair. Multiple organizations, such as the United
Methodist Relief Center and Rural Missions, Inc. exist to repair and rebuild
these houses in and around Gullah communities. Oftentimes, these houses
won’t be able to keep out the elements. As such, they are moldy, dirty, and
dusty, and unsafe. Sometimes, they are made with outdated materials that
also contribute to poor health. Materials such as asbestos are good examples
of such.
But bad healthcare is not only a result of poor housing. It is also a result
of poor diet and exercise. Most traditional Gullah food is fried or cooked in 29 William Pollitzer, op. cit., p. 192-194.
30 ibid, p. 130.
31 Rural Mission, Inc., "Helping Rural Mission," Rural Mission, Inc., http://www.ruralmission.org/helping.shtml (accessed May 2, 2010).
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vast amounts of grease, butter, or even ingredients such as bacon grease.
While many of these ingredients are delicious in the forms of a “Limpin’
Susan” (Rice and Okra mixture) or a seafood casserole, these recipes will
clog arteries faster than a heartbeat. These foods do not aid in keeping a diet
or actively exercising. Furthermore, eating the greasy food prevents them
from self-regulating their health. A recent study showed that from a sample
of 1,276 Gullah people, 27.7% of individuals reported self-glucose
monitoring. The exercising rates were even more disturbing. About 55.6%
reported exercising. However, the exercise consisted of walking, without a
measure for walking speed, duration of walk, or how many times per week
individuals walked. And although 44.1% of people had reported that they had
been referred to a diabetic class or a doctor, only 38.2% reported making a
yearly visit to an ophthalmologist.32 Not only are these people self-inhibiting,
they are also victims of medical prejudice. Oftentimes, they do not have easy
access to medical care. Today, there are only 15 hospitals available to this
population of people who live all along the coast of South Carolina.33 And
most Gullah people do not trust the doctors in the hospitals. What’s more,
most Gullah people cannot afford health insurance or medical bills, so they
would rather avoid high medical expense in favor of spending it on
something on something else, especially food. These people are already
impoverished, and the last thing they need is an outrageously high medical 32 Ida Johnson-Spruill et al., op. cit. p. 117.
33 The Agape Center, "South Carolina Hospitals and Medical Centers," South Carolina Hospital Assoication, http://www.theagapecenter.com/Hospitals/ South-Carolina.htm (accessed May 2, 2010).
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bill.
Since the 1930’s, the isolation which kept the Gullah communities
together has disappeared, largely due to the interference of the outside
world. Most modern roads along the coast were built during this time,
allowing corporations to come and eye the Gullah lands. Developers began
to threaten the delicate Lowcountry environment and historic way this
unique group has lived since the fall of the Confederacy. When tax values on
beach front properties became too high for Gullah people to pay them, a
“friendly corporation” paid the money owed, bought the tracts, and forced all
of the Gullah people off their traditional lands.34 Corporate businesses are
currently in the process of buying Gullah lands and building huge beach
resorts in their place. Examples of these urbanized islands are Hilton Head
Island, Litchfield Beach, and Kiawah Island. Even Myrtle Beach (the
metropolitan vacation getaway of South Carolina) was once considered
Gullah.35 This wave of modernization has swept across the state, turning
forest and marsh into private resorts and golf courses. It has disrupted the
balance between people and nature, and has even affected those traditions
such as making sweetgrass baskets. The sweetgrass has been killed by
pesticides and herbicides from the surrounding development.36 So not only
are they unable to have a home, Gullah people are unable to practice their
34 William Pollitzer, op. cit., p. 190.
35 Thomas Pyatt, Gullah History Along the Carolina Lowcountry, (Conway, SC: T.J. Pyatt, 2006), p. 9.
36 William Pollitzer, op. cit., p. 191.
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art.
The question which most Gullah people have to ask themselves is this:
Is Gullah culture worth maintaining? In the past 60 years, so much of the
Gullah community has given way to modernity and commercialism. Most
people are unemployed and cannot afford to maintain themselves or their
community. Furthermore, many of the younger generations are not carrying
out or finding deeper significance in the Gullah culture. They know very little
(if anything at all) about the culture itself. And what they do know, they don’t
practice it outside of the community for fear of ostricization. A prime
example of such is what is known as “decreolization” the act by which the
Gullah dialect is being stamped out of Gullah youth by school teachers. Many
school teachers believe that the Gullah Creole is actually a bad, broken form
of English. People will use the term “geechee people,” referring to those who
speak “that Geechee talk” considered illiterate and childlike by white
Americans. Many frustrated teachers daily complain about the “sloppy, error-
filled and verbally destitute” speech of these children.37 Therefore, most of
the children don’t use the language at school, but at home with their elders
who do speak the dialect.
If one examines the matter more deeply, he or she will realize that
ending the Gullah people’s poverty may mean destroying many aspects of
the Gullah culture. Gullah people have always been able to find community
37 Virginia Doubchan Benmaman, "An Investigation of Reading Comprehension Ability of Black Fourth and Fifth Grade Students Who are Reading Below Grade Level Utilizing Materials Written in Gullah and Standard English" (PhD diss., University of South Carolina, 1975), p. 5.
Taylor 16
in their poverty. From the days of the slave trade to the present, they have
found solace in their unique lifestyles and traditions bourn from hardship.
What happens if we as outsiders start helping to “preserve them” by
snatching this issue from their hands, taking it up this cause and fighting the
fight for them? Do they not lose too? Recently, many people who left the
Gullah communities in the following the Civil Rights Act have come back to
the places of their childhood. The new customs, values, and success they
achieved in the northern part of the United States has become transposed
into their society, even among the changes in poor rural living, education,
social ills, poor healthcare, and expanding corporate development. They are
trying to reserve many practices from their transmogrified African roots.
These include ties of “matriarchy, polygyny, and kinship” and making them
into a “social creolization” with the new values.38 Organizations, like the
South Carolina Costal Conservation League and the Neighborhood Legal
Assistance Program have been helping out these rural Gullah farmers
maintain their land in the face of developers looking to attract tourists. At
Penn Center on St. Helena Island, the Sea Island Preservation Project is
under way, taking an earthist perspective in training residents to balance
environmental protection and cultural preservation with responsible
development.39
Ultimately, the question of cultural identity in poverty is a question no
38 William Pollitzer, op. cit., p. 134.
39 ibid, p. 191.
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others but the Gullah people can answer. The surrounding groups outside of
the Gullah culture must be willing to enact on whatever they decide. But if
given the choice between living in poverty without power and living among
those to whom power is given, I believe the Gullah people would choose the
later. The only way they can preserve their culture is to make themselves
heard, and poverty does not yield itself to the vociferous. But until that day,
the Gullah people must take comfort and courage in their struggle against
poverty and the developing world by which it is surrounded. It is my belief
that despite their present state of poverty, they take comfort in these words
from Jesus’s Beatitudes:
“Oona bless fa true, oona po people, cause God da rule oba oona. Oona bless
fa true, oona wa hongry now, cause God gwine gii oona all oona wahn fa
nyam. Oona bless fa true, oona wa da cry now, cause oona gwine laugh later
on.”40
40 Luke 6:20-21. De Nyew Testament. In the King James Version, the scripture reads: “blessed be ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep for now: for ye shall laugh.”
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Fourth and Fifth Grade Students Who are Reading Below Grade Level Utilizing
Materials Written in Gullah and Standard English.”PhD diss., University of South
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Conroy, Pat. Interview by Bud Ferillo. 2005. Corridor of Shame.
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SC: Sands Publishing, 2003.
Taylor 19
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