Cultural heritage chief executive and author Emory Shaw Campbell was born on October 11, 1941 on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. He attended elementary school on Hilton Head Island. Campbell travelled to the nearby city of Bluffton, South Carolina to attend Michael C. Riley High School where he graduated as class valedictorian in 1960. He received his B.A. degree in biology in 1965 from Savannah State College, and in 1971, he earned his M.A. degree from Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. As Director of the Penn Center on St. Helena Island in 1980, which opened in the 1800s to educate freed slaves, Campbell spearheaded efforts to create a family connection between the Gullah people and the people of Sierra Leone in West Africa. In 1988, he hosted Sierra Leone President Joseph Momoh at the Penn Center for the Gullah reunion and became an Honorary Paramount Chief in 1989 when he led the historic Gullah Reunion to Sierra Leone. A documentary of these two events has been produced for South Carolina Educational Television.

Earnestine Atkins was born in Beaufort South, Carolina. to be specific. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. Ed Atkins, Sr. Upon graduation from St. Helena High School in 1965, she began her career in the Beaufort County Schools. She earned a BA in Elementary Education from Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina, and a MA in Statistics from Pepperdine University (Beaufort). She worked at Camp St. Mary as Coordinator of Children Services for 18 ½ years. Later, she worked in the Beaufort County School system, Penn Center, and the University of South Carolina, Beaufort within different roles in education, family services, and administration. In 1989, Earnestine went with a delegation of 13 to Sierra Leone, West Africa based on the relationships Gullah Geechees have with them. Earnestine is now retired from many years of working and offering help as volunteer to many individuals in her line of work. She is currently on the Heritage Day Committee and volunteering at Penn Center. One of the longest serving members on that committee that has done a lot of good work over the years.

Community Activist-Community Development Practitioner. Retired 2015 County Administrator. Presently a Mental Health Advocate.

Mother of Derrick and Sharae ( Chris) Grandma of Raegan, Evan, and Julian. Also an Associate Minister at Elm Grove Baptist Church, Meridian, Ga.

Served as City Councilwoman and Darien's first African-American woman Mayor Pro-Tem 2001-2007.

Elaine Jenkins is the 13th of 13 children born to the late Esau and Janie B. Jenkins. She was born and reared on Johns Island, SC, one of the 5 Sea Islands located off the Carolina coastline. She attended the public schools of Charleston County; graduated summa cum laude from Tuskegee University; and earned her juris doctorate from the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law. Elaine practiced law in Charleston, SC, from 1977 until 1992 when she answered the call of the United Methodist Church to serve as one of the associate general secretaries of the General Commission on Religion and Race. Elaine returned to her private law practice in Charleston, SC in 1997 until 2001, when she was again called by the United Methodist Church to design and set up the planned giving office for the Africa University Development Office. What was initially a 3-year commitment, turned into 19 years of lay ministry with Africa University, a United Methodist-related pan-African university located at Old Mutare, Zimbabwe.

Wilson has been carrying the torch on the Moran side of the family. It is not by coincidence, either. Wilson’s mother, Mary Moran speaks of him affectionately when she tells their story of how the US Government used eminent domain to force them off the land that his grandfather had isolated his family on. Mary was seven months pregnant with Wilson when this happened. And it may have served as an everlasting bond between Mary and her son, Wilson.

When the story broke of their song’s connection to a village in Sierra Leone, Mary had the opportunity to travel through the United States and tell her story about the song that her mother taught her. Following the tradition of passing the song, a funeral dirge, from mother or grandmother to daughter or granddaughter, respectively.

Wilson has been to Sierra Leone a few times now; and will always visit Senehun Ngola whenever he does so. Wilson will be there to tell his story. And that of his family’s link to Sierra Leone.

Herb Frazier is a Charleston, South Carolina-based writer. He’s special projects editor for the Charleston City Paper, and the former marketing director at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston. Before he joined Magnolia, Frazier edited and reported for five daily newspapers in the South, including his hometown paper, The Post and Courier. In 1990, the South Carolina Press Association named him Journalist of the Year. He has taught news writing as a visiting lecturer at Rhodes University in South Africa. He is a former Michigan Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan. He studied journalism at the University of South Carolina. He is a former member of the South Carolina on the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, created by the U.S. Congress in 2006. He is the author of Behind God’s Back: Gullah Memories. He is a co-author of We Are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel with Marjory Wentworth and Dr. Bernard Powers Jr. Frazier is also the co-editor of Ukweli: Searching for Healing Truth, South Carolina Writers and Poets Examine American Racism.

Coming soon…

Antawn Polite received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from The Citadel anda Master of Arts in Counseling from Webster University. He is currently a Licensed Professional Counselor and has his private practice. In addition to having his private practice, he works at Medical University and Veteran Affairs. His professional interests focus on Behavioral Therapy and his current interests include incorporating Restorative Practices to his therapy groups. He has a licensure in Environmental Services as a Water Treatment Operator to add to his professional achievements. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma and Alpha Phi Omega and awarded as a Meritorious Instructor for Crisis Prevention and intervention. In his leisure time he spends his time reading, swimming, and listening to music.

Thomalind Martin Polite, daughter of Thomas and Rosalind Martin, was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. She received her Bachelor and Master of Arts Degrees in Speech Pathology and Audiology from South Carolina State University. She is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist with the public school system and is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. In her spare time, Thomalind enjoys reading, dancing, and spending time with her family. Thomalind resides in North Charleston with her husband, daughter, and son.

FAMBUL TIK NOTE: Priscilla, the ten-year-old girl taken from Bunce Island in 1756 and sold into slavery left a paper trail that not only tells her story, but that also connects with living people like her seventh-generation descendant, Thomalind. Telling their story!

Toni Carrier is the Director of the Center for Family History. She has been a consultant to the museum since 2015. Prior to joining the museum’s efforts, she was the Founding Director of Lowcountry Africana, a nonprofit research project and free website dedicated to African American genealogy in the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. Ms. Carrier is the founder of the USF Africana Heritage Project and Co-founder of the website Mapping the Freedmen’s Bureau: An Interactive Online Finding Aid. Ms. Carrier has served as a panelist on the BlackProGen LIVE Internet broadcast since 2016 and is a regular speaker at national genealogy conferences. Ms. Carrier earned her Master’s Degree in Applied Anthropology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from the University of South Florida.

Sheila S Walker, PhD, a cultural anthropologist and documentary filmmaker, has done fieldwork, lectured, and participated in cultural events in most of Africa and the Global African Diaspora and has numerous scholarly and popular publications. Executive Director of the non-profit Afrodiaspora, Inc., her goal is to share her experiences and knowledge of the Global African Diaspora. Her book, African Roots/American Cultures: Africa in the Creation of the Americas, and companion documentary, Scattered Africa: Faces and Voices of the African Diaspora, are based on her international conference on “The African Diaspora and the Modern World.” Her book, Conocimiento desde adentro: Los afro–sudamericanos hablan de sus pueblos y sus historias/Knowledge from the Inside: Afro-South Americans Speak of their People and their Histories (in Spanish), features chapters by Afrodescendants from all the Spanish-speaking countries in South America. Her most recent documentary is Familiar Faces/Unexpected Places: A Global African Diaspora. Dr. Walker was Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for African and African American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and Professor of Anthropology and Director of the African Diaspora and the World program at Spelman College.

Scott is a native of Beaufort, South Carolina. He is presently retired from the Beaufort County Department of Social Services as a Benefits Integrity Claims Specialist and has worked with DSS for 33 years.

He is a member of the Mt. Sinai Baptist Church where he is presently serving as the Church Treasurer and the director/musician of the church choir. Scott is also the director/musician for the St. Paul Baptist Church Adult Choir.

He is a graduate of South Carolina State University with a B.S. degree in Business.

Scott holds membership in numerous orgaihzations, to name but a few: the Carae’s Lowcountry Modeling as President, Fellowship Concert Choir as Business Manager/musician, Gospel Friends of Beaufort as President, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Life Member #8415, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. South Carolina District The Original Gullah Festival of South Carolina, Inc., Entertainment Committee Chair, Aunt Pearlie Sue & Gullah Kinfolk as Assistant Artistic and Musical Director, Board Member of The Gullah Traveling Theater, Inc.

Scott is a community leader, vocalist, musician, and director and has directed several productions in the form of fashion shows, pageants, musicals, and plays too numerous to mention. Scott has won many honors and awards,

Scott’s philosophy of life is to “ALWAYS BELIEVE AND TRUST IN JESUS CHRIST, BECAUSE HE WILL ALWAYS DIRECT YOUR PATH” Proverbs 3:5-6.

Sara Makeba Daise aka Geechee Gal Griot (she/her/hers) is a Black, fifth-generation Gullah Geechee woman, Griot, Afrofuturist, space & time-traveler, dimension-hopper, gatekeeper, Cultural History Interpreter, Writer, Singer and Healer from Beaufort, SC.

She received a B.S. in Communication and a minor in African American Studies from the College of Charleston. She received an M.A. in Public History with distinction from Union Institute & University. Her creative thesis: “‘Come on in The Room’: Afrofuturism as a Path to Black Women’s Retroactive Healing” was a 2018 recipient of the Brian Webb Award for Outstanding MA Thesis in History & Culture from Union Institute & University.

She currently consults as a translator and Cultural Accuracy and Sensitivity Reader for numerous creative projects relating to Gullah Geechee and Africana history & culture.

Leon was born to parents, Osee and Anna Relaford and reared in Riceboro, Georgia among thirteen siblings. He attended and graduated in 1975 from Bradwell Institute High School in Hinesville, Georgia. Entered the United States Air Force in August of 1976 where he served honorably for 24 years, obtaining the rank of Master Sergeant (E-7), retiring in 2000. He is married to Antoinette Relaford, his wife of eighteen years. They share among themselves six children and have seven grandchildren. He has authored a book titled “Money Secrets Unveiled” which can be found on Amazon and Kindle. He recently returned from West Africa, which gave him the inspiration to start a foundation, along with his brothers and sister, who accompanied he and his wife to Sierra Leone, Osee and Anna Relaford Foundation, in honor of his father and mother. Mr. Relaford currently resides with his wife in Mount Olive, North Carolina and has operated a lawn service business since 2000. Both he and his wife attend church at Impact Church Goldsboro. He operates as an independent contractor for the state of North Carolina as a sports official. He has officiated multiple sports for 34 years. Leon has been honored with the Distinguished Service Award. He was the plate umpire in the North Carolina 4A State Softball Championship game in 2005, which set a state record in several categories, that game being the longest game in state history. His latest endeavor is too reconnect to his family’s ancestral home of Sierra Leone, West Africa. Through The Osee and Anna Relaford Foundation they have built a well, and have supplied, on a continual basis, medical supplies for the health and well-being of the families in their village of Senehun Ngola, Sierra Leone. He is responsible for building a website, reconnectsierraleone.org to expose the world to their efforts.

Antoinette was born to parents, David and Deloris Waddell and reared in New Haven, Connecticut among four siblings. She is married to Leon Relaford, her husband of eighteen years. They both share six children and have seven grandchildren. She attended and graduated in 1991 from Goldsboro High School in Goldsboro, North Carolina. She entered her college journey where she obtained: A Bachelor of Science Degree in Early childhood Education, Master of Science degree in Phycology and Child and Adolescent Development and Master of Science degree in School Administration. She is currently employed with public school education, where she has served in leadership roles for 22 years. She recently returned from West Africa, which she shared the inspiration to start a foundation along with her husband and his sisters and brothers. The foundation Osee and Anna Relaford Foundation, in Honor of her husband’s father and mother. Both her and husband attend church Impact Church Goldsboro. Her endeavor is to support the reconnection of her husband’s ancestral home of Sierra Leone, West Africa. Through the Osee and Anna Relaford Foundation they built a well and have supplied medical supplies for the health and well being of the families in their village of Senehun Ngola, Sierra Leone. She worked along side her husband, building a website, reconnectsierraleone.org, to expose the world to their efforts.

Dr. JacQueline E. Lawton was born in Jacksonville, FL but now hails from the Lowcountry of Beaufort, SC. She is a 6th grade English Language Arts teacher at Robert Smalls International Academy with 26 years of experience. Dr. Lawton is a veteran educator with extensive experience as a Title I and Reading First Coach and a grant writer, ELA and Reading Instructional Coach, Assistant Principal and Classroom Teacher. She has twice been honored as Teacher of the Year at Toney Elementary School and Robert Smalls International Academy.

She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from South Carolina State University, in Orangeburg, SC, a Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction as well as a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Administration and Supervision for K-12 Schools from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. JacQueline is an active member of her community serving including serving as Election Commissioner for the town of Port Royal. Dr. Lawton is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. where in her 30 years of membership, she has served on the local, State and National levels. JacQueline is the eldest daughter of Michael and Ozell Richardson and the wife of Roycie Lamont Lawton, together they share one grandson, Collin White.

Born in Riceboro, Georgia a descendant of the Gullah people from Sierra Leone. My grandfather was Charles Shaw the son of Mustafa Shaw. I am the son of Anna Lee Shaw and Osee Relaford.

I am the former president and owner of 2 automobile dealerships in Jacksonville, Florida. I am currently a realtor licensed in the state of Florida.

I am married to Carolyn Hart and we have four children, eleven grand children and six great grand children.

I went to Sierra Leone with Fambul Tik in December 2019. I had the honor of returning to the village of Senehun Ngola where I met Baindu Jabaty who remembered the song that connected the Gullah people of Harris Neck, Georgia.

I am currently the chairman of the Harris Neck Land Trust engaged in the fight to return a portion of the 2687 acres taken from our ancestors in 1942. A chronology of our struggles can be found on our website.

Harrisnecklandtrust.org

Coming soon…

Aminata (Ami) Wurie is a native Sierra Leonean and first-generation American from the State of Texas. She is passionate about elevating nations and increasing human potential and capital through sustainable development, including roots tourism and poverty alleviation. Ami serves in capacities that support and promote these themes.

In relation to the Sierra Leone Gullah-Geechee connection, Ami was instrumental in the planning and orchestrating of the Fambul Tik-Next Step Homecoming 2019 program. With over 10 years of leadership and project management experience in developing and delivering solutions, she oversaw the travel of over 50 Americans, involved in long-standing cultural and historical preservation work, to the West African nation of Sierra Leone (Salone). Driving efficiencies in execution, she worked with domestic and international teams to plan, budget, and implement this historical heritage study tour. In addition to the Gullah-Geechee community, partnerships included the Government of Sierra Leone-Ministry of Tourism, Freetown City Council-Mayor’s Office, US Embassy-SL, and the University of Sierra Leone, among other entities.

Ami is a positive, light-hearted tea and travel enthusiast, who speaks Krio fluently and enjoys learning Spanish, French, Arabic, and Chinese. Her favorite pastimes are spending time in nature and relaxing with her family. Aminata holds a Master of Art in Urban Affairs and a Master of Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington.