By Rosalind Ryans
The African descendants of the Gullah Geechee were enslaved on an island in South Carolina to work on a plantation. It was extremely hard to be removed from the home that you are familiar with and forced to work on a plantation on an island. The Gullah Geechee people, from what I researched, have not displayed any anger at being enslaved by the plantation owners. Instead, they chose to make the best of an inconvenient situation. The Gullah Geechee enslaved people worked on the plantation to take care of the crops in the field.
The plantation was on Sapelo Island, where crops such as okra, rice, yams, peas, hot peppers, peanuts, and watermelon were grown during the Civil War. The three most important crops that the plantation owners focused on were Carolina rice, Cotton, and Sea Island red peas. The plantation that the island was on was perfect for the crops that the owners wanted to plant and sell. However, the Sapelo Island was not particularly good for the enslaved workers who had to work in the field. The field was hot, and depending on what crops had to be taken care of, some crops were dangerous to the enslaved worker. An example of one of the hazardous crops for the enslaved worker was Carolina rice. When workers are on the plantation field, they come in contact with poisonous snakes, alligators, or disease-carrying mosquitoes. In addition, the enslaved worker had to use hazardous construction tools to reach the Carolina rice in the ground. Carolina rice, Cotton, and Sea Island red peas were the three most important crops that Gullah Geechee’s descendants cared for on the plantation for the owners on Sapelo Island. So, the three crops were prevalent and in high demand by customers that the plantation owners had to get more enslaved workers to work in the field.
When the Civil War was over, plantations were abandoned by the plantation owners because the enslaved Gullah Geechee was set free and could no longer be forced to work on a plantation. As a result of the closure of plantations, many formerly enslaved people left, but most stayed and settled on the Carolina coast. The formerly enslaved people claimed the land from the plantations for themselves and built a community which is where the name Gullah Geechee came from. Since the civil war ended, there have been changes for the Gullah people. The changes started with the Gullah people fighting to grow certain crops on the abandoned plantation land. As a result, the Gullah Geechee people requested the help of a non-profit organization. The non-profit organization that offered to help the Gullah Geechee people is called the “Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society.”
The Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society is helping the Gullah Geechee people on Sapelo Island, where most people reside. The focus of the Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society is to help re-establish the crops they had been planting when they were on the plantation. The Gullah Geechee people also wanted to secure land that the plantation owners abandoned after the Civil War. As a result, the Gullah Geechee people have started the Geechee Community of Hog Hammock farm on the Sapelo Island in Georgia. On this farm, the Geechee people are growing Purple Ribbon sugarcane. The Purple Ribbon sugarcane, used to produce syrup, has become extremely popular with the customers on Sapelo Island. It is a start for the Gullah Geechee people to re-establishing their crops for their community.
Today, because the plantations are not open, different crops are being produced on the plantation. The only difference in the crops being planted now from the Civil War is that The Gullah Geechee people do not focus on Cotton. Also, the plantations have gone from several islands to just one significant island that still has the formerly enslaved people remaining on it. The enslaved Gullah Geechee people are now free, which is excellent. The plantation land is now available for the Gullah people who worked extremely hard on the ground. The three crops currently grown on the Gullah Geechee plantation are Carolina rice, sugarcane, and Sea Island red peas. The Gullah Geechee people started with no freedom to do as they wanted, but now they are free to farm not just three crops but as many crops as they want on a plantation.
Reference
Bellacomo, A, (2019, February), America’s Forgotten Crops – Purple Ribbon Sugarcane, https://www.georgia-growingamerica.com/features/2019/02/america.
Cary, N. (2019, February), In Coastal SC, Gullah Culture’s African roots persevere amid community change, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2019/02/18/gullah-cultures-africa-roots-perservere-and-thr…
Nicholson, Z. (2021, December), Turning the Tides: Heritage crops helping revive Gullah Geechee communities, foodways, https://www.savannahnow-com-depth/news/2021/12/15/heritage-crops-helping-revive-gullah-commu
(2022) Poplar Grove Plantation, https://www.poplargrove.org/discover/gullah-geechee-2
