Black Cultural Center to sponsor lecture on Gullah heritage
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University's Black Cultural Center will sponsor a presentation at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 as part of its fall Cultural Arts Series "One Step Closer: Journeying Home Through the Hearts and Heritage of the Gullah People."
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Emory Shaw Campbell, president of Gullah Heritage Consulting Services, will be the featured speaker. The lecture is free and open to the public. He also will discuss his book, "Gullah Cultural Legacies: A Synopsis of Gullah Traditions, Customary Beliefs, Art Forms and Speech on Hilton Head Island and Vicinal Sea Islands in South Carolina and Georgia."
"Emory Campbell has made a number of contributions to the cultural and environmental heritage of the Gullah people," said Renee Thomas, director of the Black Cultural Center. "Because of his work in the area, he has been able to help preserve and enhance the rich Gullah cultural and environmental heritage in the face of rapid development on the islands."
In 1980, Campbell became the executive director of Penn Center, located on St. Helena Island, where he embarked on a program to revive the center's historical significance and its educational programs. Before he retired in 2003, he organized the Penn Center Heritage Days Celebration, revised the family farm program and expanded the cultural program to assist cultural artists, environmentalists, linguists, filmmakers and authors.
Campbell has appeared in many documentaries, news magazines, films and radio and television programs. He was awarded the Governor's Award for Historical Preservation and inducted into the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame in 1999 and was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters by Bank Street College in New York in 2000. His guidebook, "Gullah Cultural Legacies," was first published in 2002.
In 2005, he was given the Carter G. Woodson Memorial Award by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History for his work in furthering the understanding of black Americans' heritage and making positive changes in the local community. Earlier this year, he appeared in the documentary "The Will to Survive, the Story of the Gullah/Geechee Nation."
As president of the Gullah Heritage Consulting Service, he now conducts institutes on Gullah cultural heritage and related issues through lectures, short courses and tours on the Hilton Head Islands.
Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu
Source: Renee Thomas, (765) 494-3092, rathomas@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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