Gullah Culture in South Carolina - African American History Month

Our Family reunion in 2009 was held at Myrtle Beach South Carolina, in a nice Hotel. Next to Myrtle Beach is Atantic Beach, nicknamed The Black Pearl, the rich culture of the Town of Atlantic Beach was formed of mostly Gullah/Geechee people, descendants of slaves who lived for 300 years on the Sea Islands from Wilmington, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida. In the early 1930’s, defying Jim Crow laws in the segregated south, debunking black stereotypes, and broadening the enterprises of the Gullah/Geechee people, black men and women opened hotels, restaurants, night clubs, and novelty shops in Atlantic Beach. They would travel along Interstate 95, Highway 17 and South Carolina Highway 9, coming from North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia to Florida, where racial segregation took its toll. Yes, in 2009 we were, "allowed" to have our family at Myrtle Beach, but our history is with the Gullah, of South Carolina's low country. Many of the slaves in South Carolina arrived through Ports located in Charleston. The slaves labored to build Charleston, and were eventually taken into the interior (up Country).