By: Jordan Meadows
Staff Writer
For many years, the Gullah-Geechee people were thought to exist primarily along the sea islands of South Carolina and Georgia, distinct communities of African American descendants of enslaved West Africans who retained much of their cultural, linguistic, and culinary heritage.
But history, when revisited more carefully, reveals that their story stretches farther north than many realize, including into southeastern North Carolina, where towns like Navassa, Belleville, and Wilmington have begun to recognize and reclaim their Gullah-Geechee roots.
In 2006, the United States Congress established the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, a National Heritage Area that spans the coastal regions from Pender County, North Carolina, to St. Johns County, Florida, and extends 30 miles inland. The designation was a historic recognition of the contributions of a people long overlooked by mainstream narratives.
It also challenged the idea that Gullah-Geechee heritage was geographically limited. Evidence of Gullah-Geechee communities exists throughout the Southeast, wherever rice plantations once dominated the landscape.
The Gullah-Geechee are the descendants of enslaved Africans who were brought to the southeastern coast because of their expertise in rice cultivation. Many came from West and Central African regions where rice was a staple crop. Their knowledge was crucial to the success of rice plantations, particularly those along rivers like the Cape Fear and Brunswick in North Carolina.
Because many of these plantations were located in rural, often isolated areas—especially along the coastal lowlands and sea islands—enslaved Africans in these regions developed a unique creole culture that combined African traditions with new influences from the Americas. This cultural insulation helped the Gullah-Geechee people preserve their language, customs, and spiritual beliefs across generations.
Their language, originally referred to as “Gullah” in South Carolina and “Geechee” in Georgia, is an English-based creole with grammatical structures and vocabulary rooted in at least three African languages. Once dismissed as “broken English,” this language is now recognized by linguists and historians as a distinct linguistic tradition that helped Gullah-Geechee communities maintain social cohesion and cultural continuity.
The Gullah-Geechee culture is rich in oral storytelling, spiritual music, folk beliefs, crafts, and cuisine, all of which reflect African roots. Rice, unsurprisingly, remains central to Gullah-Geechee cooking. Dishes are often paired with okra, peas, collard greens, and local seafood, drawing direct culinary lines to West African traditions.
Music also plays a crucial role in Gullah-Geechee life. The call-and-response pattern heard in many African American churches today echoes the rhythmic worship styles that originated in African spiritual practices. Clothing traditions, such as brightly colored garments and headwraps, further reflect this African heritage.
Art forms such as sweetgrass basket weaving—originating in West Africa and refined in the coastal Carolinas—continue to be passed down through generations.
For many North Carolinians, learning about their Gullah-Geechee heritage has been a process of rediscovery. Terms like “Geechee,” once used casually without much understanding, are now embraced as meaningful links to a deeper, shared past. Families are tracing their ancestry to local plantations, reconnecting with cultural practices, and reviving traditions that had been misunderstood or forgotten.
In recent years, local scholars, educators, and community leaders have launched initiatives to preserve Gullah-Geechee history before it disappears. At Cape Fear Community College, educators are researching the lives of Gullah-Geechee longshoremen who worked the coastal ports and collecting oral histories from descendants of enslaved people.
Meanwhile, historic sites like Reaves Chapel in Navassa—a church built by formerly enslaved people after the Civil War—are being restored as community centers and cultural landmarks.
In January, staff from the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor visited North Carolina to host community “listening sessions” in Wilmington and Navassa. These gatherings identified both ongoing efforts and urgent needs: protecting African American cemeteries from encroaching development, addressing climate change impacts on Black coastal communities, and preserving traditional livelihoods like fishing and seafood harvesting—all of which are deeply connected to Gullah-Geechee life.
