DOCSLIB.ORG

UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Unchained Manhood: The Performance of Black Manhood During the Antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction Eras Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8zk1c6kj Author Okuhata, Mark Publication Date 2014 Supplemental Material https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8zk1c6kj#supplemental Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Unchained Manhood The Performance of Black Manhood During the Antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction Eras A dissertation submitted in satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History by Mark Asami Okuhata 2014 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Unchained Manhood The Performance of Black Manhood During the Antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction Eras by Mark Asami Okuhata Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor Brenda Stevenson, Chair My dissertation examines the ways in which formerly enslaved black men constructed their gender identities. According to the cultural logic of the nineteenth century, black men were emasculated subjects who were rendered “boys” by the slave regime. However, I argue that former male slaves parlayed the cultural conditions of slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction Eras into performative demonstrations of their manhood. My first chapter is an introduction to the intersectional study of black manhood. By delineating a historiography of the gender concept, I argue that the study of black men as gendered subjects demands scholarly attention. My second chapter centers on black soldiers during the Civil War. By handling, parading, and ii discharging firearms, I argue that armed black men signified a stark break from the Colonial and antebellum periods. By the war’s end, I argue that the demilitarization of the Union Army, and the end of Reconstruction precluded black men from employing firearms as a means of constructing their black manly identity. My third chapter investigates the ways in which slavery and the Civil War impinged upon the bodies of black men during the postwar. By tracing the history of black male bodies, I argue that black men’s physicality informed and constrained their postwar gender performances. This third chapter is crucial for not only understanding postwar black manhood; it provides theoretical implications for the study of corporeality and gender construction as well. My fourth chapter situates black manly values and beliefs within the context of the economy. I explore black manly identity in relation to the volatile economic milieu of Reconstruction policies, rising taxes, agricultural fluctuations, and the “Panic of 1873.” Rather than pursue a middle-class model of self-made manliness, I argue that a historical ethos of cooperation best describes black men’s economic roles. In my fifth and final chapter, I examine black men within the context of their families and communities. Here I explore black manhood relationally to black women and children, as well as to the larger black and white communities. I contend that postbellum freedom offered former male slaves novel opportunities to demonstrate their roles as husbands, fathers, and citizens. Moreover, I conclude that with the end of Reconstruction, the resurgence of white superiority undercut black men’s performances as gendered subjects. iii The dissertation of Mark Asami Okuhata is approved. Sarah Haley Robin Derby Ellen Dubois Brenda Stevenson, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2014 iv For Kristy Kulikoff Okuhata The Love of My Life v Table of Contents Chapter 1 – Am I Not a Man? An Introduction to the Study of Black Manliness 1 Chapter 2 – Their First Shot at Manliness: Black Men and Firearms During the Civil War 19 Chapter 3 – Violent Dramas of Bodily Trauma: Tracing the Physical Residues of Enslavement and Civil War 71 Chapter 4 – More Than a Single Man: Black Cooperative Manhood in the Post-Civil War Economy 109 Chapter 5 – Without Permission: Black Manliness in the Family and Community 149 Notes - 219 Bibliography - 303 vi Vita Mark Okuhata holds a bachelor’s degree in the Department of History from California State University, Fullerton; as well as a master’s degree in the Department of American Studies from California State University, Fullerton. In 2004, Mark delivered a conference paper that analyzed the governing philosophy of documentarian Ken Burns entitled “Passing the Baton: An Evaluation of The West as a Public Memory Source” at the Western Social Science Association’s 46th Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah; and was the Honorable Mention Recipient of California State University’s Pre-Doctoral Fellowship. From 2005 to 2007, Mark attended the American Studies doctoral program at the University of Kansas where he designed and taught a course entitled “Understanding America.” vii CHAPTER ONE Am I Not a Man? An Introduction to the Study of Black Manliness Am I not a man and a brother? - Antislavery slogan, circa 18301 Silence surrounded the auction block. Then a voice of frail desperation filled the antebellum air. “Yes, sir,” declared Israel – a crippled black slave who was up for sale – “I kin do as much ez ennybody.” With an audience of prospective buyers before him, along with his wife and children nearby, the feeble yet brazen Israel continued his plea. “Marsters, ef you’ll only buy me and de chillum with Martha Ann, God knows I’ll wuk myself to deth for you.” By delivering his woeful entreaty, Israel’s position as a male slave mirrored the frailty of his broken body. As a form of human chattel, Israel lacked considerable power over his own life; and while attempts at persuasion and appeals of the heart provided some means of agency on the auction block, ultimately, Israel’s future – and the integrity of his family – rested in the hands of other men. Luckily for Israel, his earnest supplication had the desired effect. Upon hearing Israel’s assurances of hard work, a compassionate buyer collectively purchased Israel and his family.2 Although noteworthy for its agreeable outcome, Israel’s distressing experience on the auction block was neither startling nor uncommon. For Israel, and the millions of enslaved African Americans residing in the United States, negotiating their lives under the authority of other Americans was a persistent feature of perpetual servitude. Facing punishment, sale, or death, enslaved African Americans had few viable options – with the exception of successfully running away from the South, or in rarer cases, manumission or self-purchase – to effectively 1 refute their subjugation. This perennial bondage aggrieved slaves in multiple ways, including their ability to freely express themselves as gendered subjects. As chattel property of white masters, enslaved Americans were not only robbed of their freedom, dignity, and humanity, they were also deprived of their maturity as full-fledged men and women. Rendered “dependents” in both law and practice, black men and women were reduced to the diminutive status of children – referred to in Southern parlance as “boy” and “girl.” For black men in particular, their infantilized status directly impinged upon their identities as men since, according to the cultural logic of the nineteenth century, boyhood not only signified immaturity, but veritable emasculation. Indeed, as subservient “boys” under the power of white men, abolitionist societies posited black manhood in terms of a question – “Am I not a man and a brother?” – while fugitive slaves such as Lewis Clarke fervently proclaimed, “A SLAVE CAN’T BE A MAN!”3 Thus, in a nation that extolled the virtue of independence, enslaved black manhood became synonymous with its absence.4 This study seeks to examine this purported absence of black manhood during the antebellum era of 1800-1861. In addition, this study explores the ways in which black men expressed their manhood immediately after slavery – beginning with the years of Civil Warfare from 1861-1865 and continuing into the Reconstruction Era from 1865-1877. I have broadly delimited this study from 1800 to 1877 for several reasons. It was the nineteenth century that witnessed an exponential growth and entrenchment of the slave regime as well as its violent collapse – a time when millions of purportedly “emasculated” slaves became realized “men,” when thousands of black men carried and fired guns on an unprecedented level, and when possibilities of black manhood were performed during freedom like never before. Combined 2 with the economic, social, and political vicissitudes of the nineteenth century, I believe this broad span of time offers a fertile ground for black manhood studies. Although broadly delimited, this study centers on the juxtaposition between enslavement and freedom. I believe that by examining black manhood over these two adjacent periods, the concept of black manhood may be better defined. It is this comparative approach between two distinct eras of analysis – or what anthropologist Clifford Geertz has coined “reciprocal relief” – that may distinctively define two variants of black manhood in relation to one another.5 In other words, by juxtaposing black manliness during slavery and an unfettered manhood during freedom, I believe we may gain a better understanding of both. Moreover, this study is organized thematically by chapter. Chapter Two focuses on the incorporation of firearms as a thematic component of black manly expression; while
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nominees and Bios
    Nominees for the Virginia Emancipation Memorial Pre‐Emancipation Period 1. Emanuel Driggus, fl. 1645–1685 Northampton Co. Enslaved man who secured his freedom and that of his family members Derived from DVB entry: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/dvb/bio.asp?b=Driggus_Emanuel Emanuel Driggus (fl. 1645–1685), an enslaved man who secured freedom for himself and several members of his family exemplified the possibilities and the limitations that free blacks encountered in seventeenth‐century Virginia. His name appears in the records of Northampton County between 1645 and 1685. He might have been the Emanuel mentioned in 1640 as a runaway. The date and place of his birth are not known, nor are the date and circumstances of his arrival in Virginia. His name, possibly a corruption of a Portuguese surname occasionally spelled Rodriggus or Roddriggues, suggests that he was either from Africa (perhaps Angola) or from one of the Caribbean islands served by Portuguese slave traders. His first name was also sometimes spelled Manuell. Driggus's Iberian name and the aptitude that he displayed maneuvering within the Virginia legal system suggest that he grew up in the ebb and flow of people, goods, and cultures around the Atlantic littoral and that he learned to navigate to his own advantage. 2. James Lafayette, ca. 1748–1830 New Kent County Revolutionary War spy emancipated by the House of Delegates Derived from DVB/ EV entry: http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Lafayette_James_ca_1748‐1830 James Lafayette was a spy during the American Revolution (1775–1783). Born a slave about 1748, he was a body servant for his owner, William Armistead, of New Kent County, in the spring of 1781.
    [Show full text]
  • H.Doc. 108-224 Black Americans in Congress 1870-2007
    FORMER MEMBERS H 1870–1887 ������������������������������������������������������������������������ Robert Smalls 1839 –1915 UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE H 1875–1879; 1882–1883; 1884–1887 REPUBLICAN FROM SOUTH CAROLINA n escaped slave and a Civil War hero, Robert Smalls publication of his name and former enslaved status in A served five terms in the U.S. House, representing northern propaganda proved demoralizing for the South.7 a South Carolina district described as a “black paradise” Smalls spent the remainder of the war balancing his role because of its abundant political opportunities for as a spokesperson for African Americans with his service freedmen.1 Overcoming the state Democratic Party’s in the Union Armed Forces. Piloting both the Planter, repeated attempts to remove that “blemish” from its goal which was re-outfitted as a troop transport, and later the of white supremacy, Smalls endured violent elections and a ironclad Keokuk, Smalls used his intimate knowledge of the short jail term to achieve internal improvements for coastal South Carolina Sea Islands to advance the Union military South Carolina and to fight for his black constituents in the campaign in nearly 17 engagements.8 face of growing disfranchisement. “My race needs no special Smalls’s public career began during the war. He joined defense, for the past history of them in this country proves free black delegates to the 1864 Republican National them to be equal of any people anywhere,” Smalls asserted. Convention, the first of seven total conventions he “All they need is an equal chance in the battle of life.”2 attended as a delegate.9 While awaiting repairs to the Robert Smalls was born a slave on April 5, 1839, in Planter, Smalls was removed from an all-white streetcar Beaufort, South Carolina.
    [Show full text]
  • Accountability Under the Freedmen's Bureau's Labour-Contract System
    1 Contracting, property rights and liberty: accountability under the Freedmen’s Bureau’s labour-contract system Abstract Purpose – The paper focuses on the labour contract system (LCS) established by the Freedmen’s Bureau (FB) after the American Civil War to normalise relations between freed slaves and their former masters and to uphold their rights as free citizens. In particular, it explains the lack of accountability of employers under the LCS and how this contributed to the system’s failure. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts an archive-based approach to develop and illustrate the labour contracting relationship between freed persons and property owners and the role accounting played in sustaining this relationship in the immediate post bellum period. Findings – The paper finds that the LCS was coercive compared to contemporary business practice in the U.S.; did not conform to the high ideals of contracting as portrayed by the abolition movement; and was adopted by default rather than design. In the event, the reluctance of the federal government to infringe individual autonomy by imposing an over-arching system of regulation to hold employers to account for upholding their contractual obligations prevailed over the desire to defend the freed-people’s property rights. Research limitations/implications – This research examines the relationship between labour contracting and property rights as well as the role of accounting in sustaining racial prejudice against freed persons after the American Civil War. As in many archive-based studies, illustrations are selective and not randomised. Originality/value – The paper examines the various accountings and accountabilities within the LCS in the context of the underlying ideological tensions and priorities in post-conflict U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • "We Are in Earnest for Our Rights": Representative
    Representative Joseph H. Rainey and the Struggle for Reconstruction On the cover: This portrait of Joseph Hayne Rainey, the f irst African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, was unveiled in 2005. It hangs in the Capitol. Joseph Hayne Rainey, Simmie Knox, 2004, Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives Representative Joseph H. Rainey and the Struggle for Reconstruction September 2020 2 | “We Are in Earnest for Our Rights” n April 29, 1874, Joseph Hayne Rainey captivity and abolitionists such as Frederick of South Carolina arrived at the U.S. Douglass had long envisioned a day when OCapitol for the start of another legislative day. African Americans would wield power in the Born into slavery, Rainey had become the f irst halls of government. In fact, in 1855, almost African-American Member of the U.S. House 20 years before Rainey presided over the of Representatives when he was sworn in on House, John Mercer Langston—a future U.S. December 12, 1870. In less than four years, he Representative from Virginia—became one of had established himself as a skilled orator and the f irst Black of f iceholders in the United States respected colleague in Congress. upon his election as clerk of Brownhelm, Ohio. Rainey was dressed in a f ine suit and a blue silk But the fact remains that as a Black man in South tie as he took his seat in the back of the chamber Carolina, Joseph Rainey’s trailblazing career in to prepare for the upcoming debate on a American politics was an impossibility before the government funding bill.
    [Show full text]
  • Fugitive Slave Traffic and the Maritime World of New Bedford
    Fugitive Slave Traffic and the Maritime World of New Bedford A Research Paper prepared for New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and the Boston Support Office of the National Park Service Prepared by: Kathryn Grover, Historian New Bedford, Massachusetts September 1998 FUGITIVE SLAVE TRAFFIC AND MARITIME NEW BEDFORD / 1 SEPT 1998 / PAGE 1 Fugitive Slave Traffic and the Maritime World of New Bedford Kathryn Grover is an independent writer and editor in American history and has lived in New Bedford since 1992. She is the author of Make a Way Somehow: African American Life in a Northern Community, published by Syracuse University Press in 1994 and winner of that year's John Ben Snow Prize as the best manuscript in New York State history and culture. This research paper is part of a larger work, The Fugitive's Gibraltar: Escaping Slaves and Abolitionism in New Bedford, Massachusetts, to be published by the University of Massachusetts Press in Fall 2000. You may recollect the circumstance that took place a few weeks since, the attempt to capture a slave, who escaped to this place in a vessel from Norfolk, Va., they came at that time very near capturing him. We have just now got information that his owner has offered a high reward for him and that they have actually formed all their plans to take him without any delay. We think it imprudent for him to be here after the boat arrives, and I could not think of any better plan than sending him to Fall River, if you can keep him out of sight for a short time.
    [Show full text]
  • 16Goodreads the History Book Club
    29/04/2015 Goodreads | The History Book Club ­ AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (showing 1­43 of 43) Title / Author / ISBN Home My Books Groups Recommendations Explore The History Book Club discussion AMERICAN GOVERNMENT > HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 208 views The History Book Club Comments (showing 1­43 of 43) (43 new) post a comment » date newest » message 1: by Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief (new) May 26, 2011 08:12PM Group Home Events Invite People This is a thread which can be used to discuss the House of Representatives. Bookshelf Photos Members Discussions Videos Polls flag * message 2: by Alisa (last edited Aug 05, 2013 01:50PM) (new) May 26, 2011 09:03PM search discussion posts search I recently purchased this book and am looking forward to reading it. unread topics | mark unread Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen Primeiro apê Conquiste seu sonho by Philip Dray com a MRV. Mensais a Synopsis: partir de 299. Simule. Reconstruction was a time of idealism and sweeping change, as the victorious Union created citizenship rights for the freed slaves and granted the vote to black men. Sixteen black Southerners, elected to the U.S. Congress, arrived in Washington to advocate reforms such as public education, equal rights, land distribution, and the suppression of the Ku Klux Klan. But these men faced astounding odds. They were belittled as corrupt and inadequate by their white political opponents, who used legislative trickery, libel, bribery, and the brutal intimidation of their constituents to rob them of their base of support.
    [Show full text]
  • Reconstruction Era U.S
    National Park Service Reconstruction Era U.S. Department of the Interior Reconstruction Era National Monument Five Generations on Smith’s Plantation, Beaufort, South Carolina The Reconstruction era, 1861-1898, was the historic period in which the United LOC Image / LC-DIG-ppmsc-00057 States grappled with the question of how to integrate millions of newly freed African Americans into social, political, economic and labor systems. The historical events that transpired in Beaufort County, South Carolina, make it an ideal place to tell stories of experimentation, transformation, hope, accomplishment, and disappointment. The Rise of Reconstruction In November 1861 the Sea Islands or people could begin integrating themselves into in South Carolina “Lowcountry” of southeastern South Carolina free society. Many enlisted into the army, and the came under Union control. Wealthy plantation government began early efforts to redistribute owners fled as Federal forces came ashore. More land to former slaves. Missionaries and other than 10,000 African Americans — about one- groups established schools, and some of the third of the enslaved population — refused to Reconstruction era’s most significant African flee the area with their former owners. American politicians, including Robert Smalls, came to prominence here. Beaufort County became one of the first places in the United States where formerly enslaved The Port Royal Experiment With Federal forces in charge of the Sea Islands, Towne and Ellen Murray from Pennsylvania the military occupation was remodeled into a were among the first northern teachers to arrive novel social venture. The effort to help formerly in Beaufort County. They soon moved their enslaved people become self-sufficient became school into the Brick Church, a Baptist church known as the Port Royal Experiment.
    [Show full text]
  • The African American Experience in the City of Memphis, 1860-1870
    THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN THE CITY OF MEMPHIS, 1860-1870 by Nicholas Joseph Kovach A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Major: History The University of Memphis May 2012 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my father, Ronald Joseph Kovach, my mother, Linda Marie Ireland, and my niece, Emily Elizabeth Hilkert. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Dr. Arwin Smallwood, for his guidance, patience, and support. Without him, this thesis could truly not have been written. I would also like to thank Dr. Aram Goudsouzian and Dr. Charles Crawford for their valuable insight and support. Finally, I would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Richard Rupp for the initial spark that inspired me to become a historian. iii ABSTRACT Kovach, Nicholas Joseph. M.A. The University of Memphis. May 2012. The African American Experience in Memphis, 1860-1870. Major Professor: Dr. Smallwood. This is a study of African Americans in Memphis, Tennessee. The primary focus is on the transition from slavery to freedom, 1860-1870, and how the changing social structure affected and was influenced by African American agency. City, county, federal and state records were used. Specifically, the Memphis Public Library, University of Memphis Special Collections, and Shelby County Archives served as sources of information. Additionally, a comprehensive bibliography of secondary sources was examined and utilized. Unique conditions existed in Memphis. Since its founding, extremely oppressive conditions existed for slaves and free people of color, which created a resonating struggle for the African American community.
    [Show full text]
  • Four Roads to Emancipation: Lincoln, the Law, and the Proclamation Dr
    Copyright © 2013 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation i Table of Contents Letter from Erin Carlson Mast, Executive Director, President Lincoln’s Cottage Letter from Martin R. Castro, Chairman of The United States Commission on Civil Rights About President Lincoln’s Cottage, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, and The United States Commission on Civil Rights Author Biographies Acknowledgements 1. A Good Sleep or a Bad Nightmare: Tossing and Turning Over the Memory of Emancipation Dr. David Blight……….…………………………………………………………….….1 2. Abraham Lincoln: Reluctant Emancipator? Dr. Michael Burlingame……………………………………………………………….…9 3. The Lessons of Emancipation in the Fight Against Modern Slavery Ambassador Luis CdeBaca………………………………….…………………………...15 4. Views of Emancipation through the Eyes of the Enslaved Dr. Spencer Crew…………………………………………….………………………..19 5. Lincoln’s “Paramount Object” Dr. Joseph R. Fornieri……………………….…………………..……………………..25 6. Four Roads to Emancipation: Lincoln, the Law, and the Proclamation Dr. Allen Carl Guelzo……………..……………………………….…………………..31 7. Emancipation and its Complex Legacy as the Work of Many Hands Dr. Chandra Manning…………………………………………………..……………...41 8. The Emancipation Proclamation at 150 Dr. Edna Greene Medford………………………………….……….…….……………48 9. Lincoln, Emancipation, and the New Birth of Freedom: On Remaining a Constitutional People Dr. Lucas E. Morel…………………………….…………………….……….………..53 10. Emancipation Moments Dr. Matthew Pinsker………………….……………………………….………….……59 11. “Knock[ing] the Bottom Out of Slavery” and Desegregation:
    [Show full text]
  • Finding Freedom in New Bedford
    Finding Freedom in New Bedford On Site Pre-Visit Post-Visit Journey 1 Journey 2 Journey 3 Handouts National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Finding Freedom in New Bedford New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park When Samuel Nixon escaped from slavery to New Bedford, Massachusetts, in the early summer of 1855, he took the name Thomas Bayne and found “many old friends” from his native Norfolk, Virginia, already living in the small but bustling port city. By that time New Bedford was considered “one of the greatest assylums [sic] of the fugitives,” as whaling merchant Charles W. Morgan put it; to runaway slaves like George Teamoh, the city was “our magnet of attraction.” This curriculum-based lesson plan is one in a Included in this lesson are several pages of thematic set on the Underground Railroad supporting material. To help identify these using lessons from other National Parks. pages the following icons may be used: Also are: Hampton National Historic Site To indicate a Primary Source page Hampton Mansion: Power Struggles in Early America To indicate a Secondary Source page To Indicate a Student handout To print individual documents in this set right click the name in the bookmark on left and select To indicate a Teacher resource print pages. Finding Freedom in New Bedford Page 1 of 6 New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park National Park Service New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park tells the story of New Bedford the mid-19th century’s preeminent whaling port and for a time “the richest city in the world.” The whaling industry employed large numbers of African- Americans, Azoreans, and Cape Verdeans.
    [Show full text]
  • The Irish, White Racial Identity, and the 1866 Memphis Riots
    'This is the White Man's Day': The Irish, White Racial Identity, and the 1866 Memphis Riots Barrington Walker' May 1, 1866 marked the beginning of a series of riots that rocked south Memphis for three days. The principal actors in these skirmishes were decom- missioned black Union troops, newly emancipated African American civilians, and a cross section of members of the city's Irish community. By the time the commanding officer in Memphis - General George Stoneman - was able to restore the peace, the south side of Memphis lay in ruins. The city's African American community in particular bore the brunt of the destructive force of the riot. The effects of the riot on Memphis' African American community are well documented in the House of Representatives committee report of the Thirty- Ninth Congress. On the basis of the testimony of a hundred and seventy wit- nesses, the committee was able to conclude that forty-six African Americans were murdered (as opposed to only two whites), seventy five African Americans were wounded, five African American women were raped, one hundred African Americans were "maltreated," one hundred were robbed, ninety-one homes in the black community - along with four churches - were burned, and twelve school houses destroyed. In total $130,981 worth of damage was inflicted upon the African American community as well as on various federal government properties and agen~ies.~ The existing historiography of the Memphis riot has tended to focus main- ly on themes such as "interracial hostility" and the role of white
    [Show full text]
  • GULLAH GEECHEE SUMMER SCHOOL South Carolina, Georgia and Florida — PART I: Origins and Early Development | June 6, 2018 from Pender County, North Carolina, to St
    7/8/2018 + The Corridor is a federal National Heritage Area and it was established by Congress to recognize the unique culture of the Gullah Geechee people who have traditionally resided in the coastal areas and the sea islands of North Carolina, GULLAH GEECHEE SUMMER SCHOOL South Carolina, Georgia and Florida — PART I: Origins and Early Development | June 6, 2018 from Pender County, North Carolina, to St. Johns County, Florida. © 2018 Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission Do not reproduce without permission. + + Overview Overview “Gullah” or “Geechee”: Etymologies and Conventions West African Origins of Gullah Geechee Ancestors First Contact: Native Americans, Africans and Europeans Transatlantic Slave Trade through Charleston and Savannah Organization of Spanish Florida + England’s North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia Colonies The Atlantic Rice Coast Charter Generation of Africans in the Low Country Incubation of Gullah Geechee Creole Culture in the Sea Colonies Islands and Coastal Plantations ©Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission | Do not reproduce without permission. ©Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission | Do not reproduce without permission. + + “Gullah” or “Geechee”? “Gullah” or “Geechee”? Scholars are not in agreement as to the origins of the terms “Although Gullah and Geechee — terms whose “Gullah” and “Geechee.” origins have been much debated and may trace to specific African tribes or words — are often Gullah people are historically those located in coastal South used interchangeably these days, Mrs. [Cornelia Carolina and Geechee people are those who live along the Walker] Bailey always stressed that she was Georgia coast and into Florida. Geechee. And, specifically, Saltwater Geechee (as opposed to the Freshwater Geechee, who Geechee people in Georgia refer to themselves as “Freshwater lived 30 miles inland).
    [Show full text]