meet cynthia c. Harbor
Championing Culture and Technology Through Storytelling and Innovation

the question I’m most often asked
what Does it Mean to be gullah Geechee?
To be Gullah Geechee…
To be Gullah Geechee is to carry the salt of the sea in your soul and the strength of your ancestors in your stride.
We are the proud descendants of West and Central Africans, brought to the southeastern coasts of the U.S.—South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida—where our ancestors cultivated rice, indigo, and resilience.
Our culture was preserved in the isolation of the Sea Islands and along the coast in sleepy port-side towns, where traditions, language, foodways, and spirituality remained intact.
We speak with a rhythm born of Africa as well as the American South. We cook with the memory of generations blending past and present, cherishing both. And we hold tight to land, faith, and family – although they are under constant threat.
We are a diverse people. We are not a monolith and one person nor one group speak or write for all of us.
To be Gullah Geechee is to know that our stories are not just history—they are living legacies. We are culture keepers, root tenders, and bridges between past and future.
Read my newsletter Saltwater & The Word