The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor is managed by a Federal Commission. Commissioners work in partnership with the National Park Service and the state historic preservation offices of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The commission consists of fifteen members; five cultural resource experts and 10 state representatives. There are also ten alternate positions.
Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission
Expert Commissioners & Alternates
There are five expert positions on the Commission nominated by the National Park Service—2 from SC, and one each from Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.
Florida
Commissioner (Expert) – Antoinette Jackson
Antoinette Jackson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Florida. She has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Florida and a MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is interested in issues of identity and representation at national heritage sites. Her research focus is heritage tourism and the business of heritage resource management in the U.S. and the Caribbean. She completed two ethno-historical studies of southeast coastal plantations and surrounding communities today for the National Park Service—Snee Farm Plantation in Mount Pleasant, SC and Kingsley Plantation Community in Jacksonville, FL.
Dr. Jackson was born in New Orleans, LA and lives and works in Tampa, Florida. Before relocating to Florida for graduate studies, Antoinette worked as a Product Manager for AT&T and Lucent Technologies in Chicago. She is a McKnight Fellow, a poet, an All American 100 meter hurdler, and she loves to travel. Antoinette credits a study tour to Egypt in 1996, led by Dr. Asa Hillard, with inspiring her to leave her corporate career and pursue her passion—sharing the countless untold stories of African people in America. She considers her appointment to the Commission an honor.
Alternate Commissioner (Expert) – Anthony E. Dixon
Georgia
Commissioner (Expert) -- Jeanne Cyriaque
Jeanne Cyriaque is the African American Programs Coordinator for the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. She is the staff liaison to the Steering Committee of the Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network (GAAHPN) and is the editor of Reflections, a quarterly publication that raises awareness of the contributions of African Americans to the built and cultural history of Georgia. Jeanne Cyriaque published several articles about Gullah/Geechee culture in Reflections. The American Association for State and Local History awarded Reflections a Leadership in History Award.
Ms. Cyriaque plans conferences and workshops for GAAHPN and provides technical assistance to African American preservation initiatives throughout Georgia. The National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers recognized African American programs in Georgia’s state historic preservation office with an Excellence in Historic Preservation Award. She is a contributing writer in the African American Heritage Guide for Georgia. The Tourism Foundation of the Georgia Department of Economic Development produced the guide that was published by Atlanta Magazine. It is currently available for heritage travelers at welcome/visitors centers throughout Georgia. Jeanne Cyriaque completed her bachelor’s degree at Bradley University, and holds a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Illinois.
Alternate Commissioner (Expert) – Vacant
North Carolina
Commissioner (Expert) – Dr. John H. Haley
Alternate Commissioner (Expert) – Dr. David B. Frank
David Frank is a linguist and consultant working under the auspices of SIL International. He worked on the island of Saint Lucia from 1984 through 2000 as part of a team that produced a translation of the New Testament into St. Lucian Creole, a Creole dictionary, and mother-tongue literacy materials for Creole speakers. Originally from Georgia, he moved with his family back to the southeastern US in 2001, working as a consultant with a specialty in creole languages. In 2002 he became involved with Gullah. He worked as a consultant to the Sea Island Translation Team to complete a translation of the New Testament into Gullah that was started back in 1979. The Gullah New Testament was published in 2005. Dr. Frank is the author of several articles about Gullah and other creole languages, and is also editor of the Journal of Translation.
South Carolina
Commissioner (Expert) – Emory Campbell
Emory Shaw Campbell is Executive Director Emeritus of Penn Center, located on St. Helena Island, SC. During his twenty-two year tenure, he engaged diverse groups in applying methods of preserving and enhancing the unique and rich Gullah cultural and environmental heritage in the Sea Islands. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Savannah State College in 1965 and a MS in Environmental Engineering from Tufts University in Boston in 1971.
Mr. Campbell has appeared in many documentaries, news magazines, films and radio and television programs, including 60 Minutes; The Today Show; a PBS special, Family Across the Sea; as well as on C-Span’s Washington Journal. His honors include the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation (1999) and the Carter G. Woodson award for Civil Rights (2005). He was inducted into the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame (1999), and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Bank Street College, N.Y. in 2000. He authored the guide Book “Gullah Cultural Legacies” in 2005.
Mr. Campbell is currently President of Gullah Heritage Consulting Service that conducts institutes on Gullah Cultural heritage and related issues through lectures, short courses and the Gullah Heritage Trail Tours on Hilton Head Island.
Commissioner (Expert) -- Marquetta Goodwin
Queen Quet Marquetta L. Goodwine is a published author, computer scientist, lecturer, mathematician, historian, columnist, preservationist, and "The Art-ivist." She has not only provided histo-musical presentations throughout the world, but was also the first Gullah/Geechee person to speak on behalf of her people before the United Nations in Genevé, Switzerland. Goodwine was also selected, elected, and installed by her people to be the first Queen Mother of and official spokesperson for the Gullah/Geechee Nation. As a result, she is respectfully referred to as "Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation."
The South Carolina Senate recently honored Queen Quet for her work on behalf of Gullah/Geechees and as the “recognized leader of the Gullah/Geechee Nation.” Queen Quet's writings on the history of her people have received various awards and are being utilized in educational facilities across the country. She is one of the founders and the Chancellor of the International University of the Gullah/Geechee Nation. She is also the chair of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Commission General Management Plan Working Group and an expert commissioner for South Carolina.
Alternate Commissioner (Expert) – Dr. J. Herman Blake
J. Herman Blake PhD is the Inaugural Humanities Scholar in Residence at the Medical University of South Carolina. Appointed in November 2007, his responsibility is to increase the humanities perspective in a large academic health center that includes Colleges of Dental Medicine, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Graduate Studies. Prior to his present position Dr. Blake served as Scholar in Residence and the Founding Director of the Sea Islands Institute at the University of South Carolina Beaufort.
He received his BA from New York University and MA and PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. All degrees are in Sociology. As a university administrator and professor he has provided educational opportunities for students from Gullah communities.
Dr. Blake has maintained an active program of research and community service in coastal communities in South Carolina since 1967. He has conducted in-depth interviews with many people over 90 years of age in island communities and collected ethnographic data. His publications include the autobiography of Huey P. Newton, Revolutionary Suicide; over 50 articles, book chapters and reports; and 2 unpublished monographs on Sea Island communities. He has deliberately refrained from publishing the Sea Island monographs because of the intimate nature of their contents
Alternate Commissioner (Expert) – Nichole Green
State Nominated Commissioners and Alternates
There are ten positions on the Commission nominated by the State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) –four from South Carolina and two each from Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.
Florida
Commissioner (SHPO) – Glenda Simmons Jenkins
Glenda Simmons-Jenkins was born in Fernandina Beach, Florida on Amelia Island. As a native Gullah/Geechee, she plays an active role in raising awareness and understanding about her culture. She serves on the Gullah/Geechee Nation Assembly of Representatives, acting on behalf of her people living in the Florida region of the Gullah/Geechee Nation. She co-founded the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Committee of Northeast Florida, a grassroots community organization designed to continue the culture’s traditions and preserve its history. She is the granddaughter of the Rev. Lenworth Samuel Morrison, the pastor who led the Gullah/Geechee congregation of First African Baptist Church in completing the 1937 historic edifice on Cumberland Island, Georgia.
Simmons-Jenkins earned her bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the University of Florida in Gainesville. After attending the Howard University Press Book Publishing Institute, she began her communications career at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. At Brookings, she worked in the publications department, marketing division. Simmons-Jenkins has worked most recently for Community Newspapers Inc. as a staff reporter for the biweekly News-Leader, Florida’s oldest weekly newspaper, published in her hometown. The Florida Press Association recognized the News-Leader with nine awards for her reporting.
Simmons-Jenkins currently works as an independent writer. She lives with her family in O’Neil, an old community settlement six miles west of Amelia.
Commissioner (SHPO) – Ralph B. Johnson
Ralph Johnson is a Professor at the Florida Atlantic University (FAU), School of Architecture and Director, FAU Center for the Conservation of Architectural and Cultural Heritage. He was the former director of the FAU Center for Urban Redevelopment and Education. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Howard University, a Master’s degree in City Planning and a Master’s degree in Architecture, both from Yale University.
Prior to FAU, Professor Johnson was the Assistant Dean of the University of Florida, College of Architecture, Director of the College’s Research and Education Center for Historic Preservation and liaison to the College's Preservation Institute: Nantucket (PI: N) and the Preservation Institute: Caribbean (PI: C). During his tenure there he was selected by United States ICOMOS to study Architectural Conservation at the International Center for the Restoration of Monuments (ICROM) in Rome, Italy. Professor Johnson serves on numerous preservation boards of directors including Trustee Emeritus, Florida Trust for Historic Preservation; the African American Preservation Alliance; historic Bonnet House and Gardens, Fort Lauderdale; Expanding and Preserving Our Cultural Heritage, the S. D. Spady Museum and Cultural Center in Delray Beach; the 1000 Friends of Florida, Inc; and, the Smart Growth Partnership of South Florida.
Alternate Commissioner (SHPO) – William Jefferson
Georgia
Commissioner (SHPO) –Charles H. Hall
Commissioner (SHPO) –Althea Natalga Sumpter
Ethnographer and producer Althea Natalga Sumpter, a native of St. Helena Island, South Carolina, uses digital media technology to document her own culture -- the Gullah culture on the Southeastern coastal islands of South Carolina and Georgia -- incorporating traditional historical, genealogical and documentary research. She holds a Doctor of Arts in Humanities (concentrations in African/African American Studies and New Media Technology) from Clark Atlanta University, as well as Bachelor and Master of Media Arts degrees from the University of South Carolina. With fourteen years in the production industry, she is an Emmy-nominated producer and editor and formerly served as Assistant Director of Media Services and Production at The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in Atlanta. She has taught at Georgia Institute of Technology, Clark Atlanta University, Georgia State University and American InterContinental University. Her experience as a researcher for the South Carolina Department of Archives & History gives her special insight into exploring genealogy and culture. Dr. Sumpter currently teaches digital media production and world music development at The Art Institute of Atlanta. She is a member of Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting, Atlanta Friends Monthly Meeting.
Alternate Commissioner (SHPO) – Amir Jamal Toure’
Alternate Commissioner (SHPO) –Deborah L. Mack
Dr. Deborah L. Mack is an independent museum consultant. Appointed a Commissioner for the Gullah-Geechee National Heritage Commission, Department of the Interior (National Park Service) in 2007, Dr. Mack has served since 2005 on the Scholarly Advisory Committee for the planned National African American Museum of History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Mack has conducted museum collections, film production and anthropological research - primarily in Africa and the U.S. - for more than 20 years. She has similarly independently developed, led and lectured for heritage tourism programs in both the U.S. and in Africa. Dr. Mack consults extensively on museum development planning, exhibition development, interpretive, academic and cultural tourism issues with organizations nationwide and internationally. Deborah L. Mack holds a Ph.D. and an M.A., both in anthropology from Northwestern University, and a B.A. in geography from the University of Chicago.
North Carolina
Commissioner (SHPO) – Lana Carter
Lana Carter is the founder and current Chairwoman of the non-profit organization A Step Foward, Inc (ASF). ASF's mission is to address the needs of rural communities through improvements in resource accessibility and partnership development, with a historical education perspective. She is also currently working on a documentary about the Riegelwood, NC tornado via the North Carolina Arts Council's Community Folklife Documentation Institute (CFDI), and the North Carolina Folklife Institute. Ms. Carter is also working on the NC Rural Center's "Energizing E2" project, which provieds entrepreneurship resources to rural communities, women and minority populations in North Carolina.
Commissioner (SHPO) – Eulis Alexander Willis
Since 1999, Eulis A. Willis has served as Mayor of the town of Navassa in North Carolina. Previously, Mayor Willis served as Town Councilman and as Mayor pro-tem. He is also currently Treasurer of the Southeastern Black Mayors Association. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from North Carolina A&T State University in 1971.
Over the past twenty-five years, Mayor Willis has dedicated his time to numerous community groups, including the Navassa Volunteer Fire Department, the Leland Middle School, the Brunswick County Board of Social Services and the Brunswick County Hospital. In addition, he is a volunteer coach with numerous youth organizations. Mayor Willis is also the author of Navassa-The Town and its People, a text published in 1993.
Alternate Commissioner (SHPO) – Vacant
South Carolina
Commissioner (SHPO) – Ronald Daise
Ron Daise is a writer, actor, educator, and TV performer. His productions about Gullah heritage began after the publication of his first book, Reminiscences of Sea Island Heritage, in 1986. The book chronicles oral histories of elderly community members in Daise’s Gullah homeland of St. Helena Island, SC. In its sequel, Gullah Branches, West African Roots, Daise utilizes memoir, historical documentation, photographs, traditional and nontraditional spirituals to showcase cultural connections he has witnessed firsthand. He has presented stories, music, history and lectures at museums, theaters, conferences and educational institutions across the country.
From 1994-1998, Daise and his wife Natalie starred in Nick Jr. TV's award-winning "Gullah Gullah Island," for which they also served as cultural consultants. The husband-and-wife team have been featured performers at the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio; the First National Book Festival, hosted by First Lady Laura Bush and held on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol; and the Smithsonian Institution.
Daise is Vice President for Creative Education at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, SC. He is a recipient of the S.C. African American Heritage Commission’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award, the 1996 South Carolina Order of the Palmetto, and the 1997 State of South Carolina Folk Heritage Award, given for lifetime achievement and excellence in folk art that has enriched the lives of the people in their community and state. He resides in Beaufort, SC, with his wife and two children.
Commissioner (SHPO) – Louise Miller Cohen
Louise Miller Cohen is a native of Hilton Head Island. Ms. Cohen stepped out of what she calls her “shell of shame” and now shares her Gullah culture with others. She performs at schools, churches, regional festivals, college campuses and makes presentations to charitable and civic organizations including the Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club and the HHI/Bluffton Chamber of Commerce.
Ms. Cohen has an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Carolina. She has been featured in numerous newspaper and magazine articles in the Beaufort Gazette, Hilton Head Monthly, Island Packet, Bluffton Today, St. Patrick’s Press, the Savannah Morning News, Winston-Salem Journal and Pink Magazine. She has narrated documentaries including “Remnants of Mitchelville” (2004) and co-wrote the play “Seeking: A Spiritual Journey” (2005). She has been interviewed on numerous radio programs including NPR’s radio program “Weekend America” and has appeared on WHHI’s “Talk of the Town” (July 2008). In 2003, Ms. Cohen founded the non-profit Gullah Museum of Hilton Head Island.
Ms. Cohen was the recipient of the 2007 Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award, has been nominated twice for the, Civitas Lifetime Leadership Award and was the recipient of the “Community Service Award” from NIBCAA. She continues to chair committees and appears at the Hilton Head Island Gullah Celebration. She belongs to the Squire Pope/Stoney Property Owners Association, and sits on the Hilton Head Island Accommodations Tax Committee. Louise Miller Cohen is writing a biography (publication is scheduled for 2010).
Commissioner (SHPO) – William Saunders
Commissioner (SHPO) – Willie B. Heyward
Alternate Commissioner (SHPO) – Danny Cromer
Alternate Commissioner (SHPO) – Veronica D. Gerald
