Taylor 1

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).

Taylor 2

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)

Taylor 3

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.

Taylor 4

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.

Taylor 5

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.

Taylor 6

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

Taylor 7

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.

Taylor 8

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.

Taylor 9

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.

Taylor 10

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.

Taylor 11

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.

Taylor 12

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).

Taylor 13

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).

Taylor 14

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.

Taylor 15

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.

Taylor 17

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.”

Taylor 18

Works Cited

The Agape Center.“South Carolina Hospitals and Medical Centers.”South Carolina Hospital

Association. http://www.theagapecenter.com//Carolina.htm (accessed May 2, 2010).

Amazon.com.“Gullah Gullah Island.”Review of Gullah Gullah Island. IMDb.

http://www.imdb.com/// (accessed May 2, 2010).

Benmaman, Virginia Doubchan.“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.

Conroy, Pat. Interview by Bud Ferillo. 2005. Corridor of Shame.

http://corridorofshame.com//onroy.mov (accessed May 2, 2010).

Ferillo & Associates, Inc.“Corridor of Shame.”Corridor of Shame: The Case.

http://www.corridorofshame.com/ (accessed May 2, 2010).

“Frequently Asked Questions: Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Tropical Cyclones.”Atlantic

Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. http://www.aoml.noaa.gov///.html

(accessed May 2, 2010).

Gabrini, Jamie Elizabeth. Review of Gullah Culture in America, by Wilbur Cross. The Western

Journal of Black Studies 33, no. 4 (2009): 295-296.

Gantt, Jesse Edward, Jr., and Veronica Davis Gerald. The Ultimate Gullah Cookbook. Beaufort,

SC: Sands Publishing, 2003.

Taylor 19

Jamila White & Associates, Inc.“Gullah Gullah Island.”Kearse Media Solutions.

http://www.gullahgullah.com/.html (accessed May 2, 2010).

Johnson-Spruill, Ida, Pamela Hammond, Bertha Davis, Zina McGee, and Delroy Louden.

“Health of Gullah Families in South Carolina With Type 2 Diabetes.” The Diabetes

Educator 35, no. 1 (2009): 117-123.

Mullins, Steve, and John Burbage.“Litany of Disaster.” In And Hugo Was His Name: Hurricane

Hugo, A Diary of Destruction, 46. Sun City West, AZ: The News and Currier, 1989.

Rural Mission, Inc.“Helping Rural Mission.”Rural Mission, Inc.

http://www.ruralmission.org/.shtml (accessed May 2, 2010).

Shipler, David. K. The Working Poor. New York: Vintage Books, 2005.

Smith, Glenn.“Incidence of gang violence soaring.”The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC),

December 10, 2009.

Trespicio, John D.“History.”Tours de Sandy Island. http://www.toursdesandyisland.com/.htm

(accessed May 2, 2010).