African American Heritage in the Golden Crescent
African American Heritage in the Golden Crescent
Description:
The Golden Crescent is rich in African American history. On isolated coastal plantations, enslaved blacks created the unique Gullah culture, based on mixed European and African elements. At the center of Gullah culture was the Gullah language, which drew most of its vocabulary from English and its grammar from West African languages. Other aspects of Gullah culture included musical and dance styles of African origin and a Christianity infused with African spirituality and emotionalism. African storytelling traditions survived in tales of "Brer Rabbit" and "Brer Bear," tales in which the weak often outsmarted the strong. Features of this rich cultural heritage survive in many crescent communities. Following emancipation, freedpeople in Georgia and Florida created educational institutions, supported black political leaders, and struggled to escape exploitative sharecropping and tenant arrangements. Throughout the era of segregation, blacks relied on their churches, schools, mutual aid societies, and other institutions to survive.
Education Levels:
9, 10, 11, 12
Subject:
State History, United States History
Resource Type:
Reference
Medium:
Text/HTML
Fee Status:
Free
Beneficiary:
Students
Online provider:
National Park Service
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