During our Summer 2023 internship, we connected with the Cosmo Community in Jacksonville, Florida as they expand the storytelling and preservation efforts in the area. The short film, Gullah Geechee Youth Culture Quest” brought together youth & elder culture bearers educating and learning from one another to help cultivate continued stewardship of Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage for the future.

This exhibition investigates Gullah Geechee landownership: How the land was acquired, how some land has been lost, and how communities are organizing and fighting to keep their land. In the Summer of 2023, Morehouse, Spelman, and Clark Atlanta University students traveled throughout the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor to provide service to cultural celebrations and to learn the history and significance of Gullah Geechee people to the formation of African American culture.

Each community that was visited had recent and current land development disputes. While the exhibit highlights a handful of them, there are still numerious land issues that continue to harm individuals, families, and the community at large.

Visiting the community of Cosmo was such a rewarding experience. Being from Florida, I had never known or so much as heard of Gullah Geechee people. Being able to visit this community in the state of Florida was a different experience for me compared to the different places I was able to visit in South Carolina.

Kannette King, Spelman College ‘23, traveled to the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor as a summer intern and continues to be deeply embedded in communities seeking justice.

Jordan Conway, a student at Clark Atlanta University, travels to the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor as a summer intern and documents his experience.