This workshop focuses on the role Gullah Geechee women have played in community mobilization and social justice movements particularly in the Sea Islands of South Carolina. Prior to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, many African Americans who could not read were denied the right to vote. To qualify to vote, they were subjected to poll taxes and literacy tests. Septima Poinsette Clark and Ella Baker’s advocacy surrounding voting helped to prepare millions of African Americans to exercise their right to vote. By designing an adult education program grounded in critical literacy, and arming teachers to implement a grassroots reading program (Sea Island Citizenship Schools), they brought about significant social change. Collectively, Clark and Baker’s efforts led to voters’ rights empowerment and greater community and Civil Rights engagement. Findings indicate that the model for literacy education utilized by Clark and Baker helped mobilize African American voters. By creating a curriculum that reflected the needs and backgrounds of adult learners, this critical literacy model addressed pressing social issues in an environment where students and teachers learned from each other and helped change their communities. What are the modern implications of their work in Gullah Geechee communities? This research has implications for all learners who seek ways to make education transformative for today’s world.

Length: 75 minutes

Although the overall story of the Black praise house has been preserved, far too few people know of their architectural, cultural, and spiritual importance in the overall story of the American past. This is a narrative that encompasses architecture concerning the sacred, as well as the meaning of family and community. It is not the complexity of the praise house that makes it unique, but instead their past, purpose, and connection to providence. Beyond further disseminating the story of the praise house, another primary goal is to highlight the existence of those in bad repair that still stand in Lowcountry. So many of these buildings are in desperate need of major preservation efforts.

Length: 30 minutes