The International African American Museum has received a grant of $1 million from the Yawkey Foundation in support of the museum’s inaugural year of operations and installation and development of the Gullah Geechee exhibition gallery. This gallery is dedicated to promoting awareness and understanding about the Gullah Geechee people, descendants of Africans who were enslaved on the rice, indigo, and Sea Island cotton plantations of the lower Atlantic coast.
While the International African American Museum will reflect on the effect and impact of the African Diaspora and African American journey on the world today, at its core the museum will focus on the Lowcountry and South Carolina. The Gullah Geechee exhibition gallery will provide visitors with the opportunity to learn about Gullah Geechee history and culture, including how the attempts to mitigate uprisings in the remote Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia created a new way of life that involved a mixture of various African artistry, spirituality, music, and language.
The exhibition will also highlight the perseverance of the Gullah Geechee people through their history of activism and organizing, as well as examine the contemporary issues facing them today.
The Yawkey Foundation’s gift will be recognized by the museum in the Gullah Geechee exhibition gallery, which is one of eight core galleries within the International African American Museum. The museum is slated to open its doors at the end of 2022.
