National Park Service to offer Gullah Heritage Programs in Mount Pleasant

The National Park Service will offer several Gullah Heritage Programs at the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site in Mount Pleasant, about a 2 hour drive from Columbia.  The programs will be offered every Saturday during February and March. The programs are being offered in partnership with the Town of Mount Pleasant and will begin at 2 PM

Charles Pinckney, an author and signer of the Constitution, owned seven plantations. Enslaved Africans and African-Americans on Lowcountry plantations developed a unique culture known collectively as “Gullah” Gullah people made significant contributions not only to the Lowcountry plantation system but also to American culture in general. A remnant of Pinckney’s Lowcountry plantation, Snee Farm, is preserved today as Charles Pinckney National Historic Site.

These Gullah programs range from craft demonstrations such as quilting, cast-net making, woodworking and sweetgrass basket sewing to cooking, African storytelling, folk-tales, spirituals and other musical performances. The schedule is:

·         Feb 4
Carolyn “Jabulile” White, Sea Island storyteller
Vera Manigault, sweetgrass baskets

·         Feb 11
Anita Singleton-Prather, “Aunt Pearlie Sue” Gullah Tales
Vera Manigault, sweetgrass basket demonstration     

·         Feb 18
Sharon & Frank Murray, rice production
Elijah Ford, sweetgrass basket demonstration

·         Feb 25
Ann Caldwell & the Magnolia Singers, spirituals
Jeannette Lee, sweetgrass basket demonstration
 

·         Mar 3
Veronica Gerald & Jesse Gantt, Gullah cooking demonstration
Alada “Muima” Shinault-Small, African tales
NIA Productions, African drumming & dance   

·         Mar 10
Greater Goodwill AME Male Chorus
Vermelle & Andrew Rodrigues, quilting & toys
Vera Manigault, sweetgrass basket demonstration
Charles C Williams, castnet making & woodwork

·         Mar 17
Dorothy Montgomery, quilting
Elijah Ford, sweetgrass baskets

·         Mar 24
Anita Singleton-Prather, “Pearlie Sue” Gullah Tales
Vera Manigault, sweetgrass basket demonstration

·         Mar 31
Ann Caldwell & the Magnolia Singers, spirituals
William Rouse, sweetgrass basket demonstration

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site is located at 1254 Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant. It is open daily 9-5 except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.

Source: National Park Service

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