Friday, Feb. 05, 2010

Black history, culture highlighted at Brookgreen Garden

A conglomeration of culture celebrating American history given by people with dark skin will be presented this month at Brookgreen Gardens.

On Feb. 13, The Healing Force will kick off the festivities with a vibrant mix of stories and songs reflecting upon Africa in the Wall Lowcountry Center Auditorium. The event, one of several presented in observance of Black History Month, will start at 1 p.m. The four-member performance troupe, hailing from Winston-Salem, N.C., is made up by a husband-and-wife team, Joseph and Gail Anderson, their daughter, Sonji Gardner, and their son, Karim Anderson.

The family has performed at an array of venues across the country and has visited African countries, as well.

"They have a wealth to share," said Ron Daise, Brookgreen's vice president for creative education. "They are a very rhythmic, musical group."

To coincide with the performance, a special cultural menu will be offered at the Pavilion Restaurant.

The commemoration of culture past and present will continue Feb. 14 and Feb. 24 when Daise will present "O Freedom O'va Me." Each day, the program will start at 1 p.m. in the Wall Lowcountry Center Auditorium.

Daise, who is Gullah and delights in being so, grew up in the Cedar Grove community of St. Helena Island. Daise has an extensive background in Gullah culture and embraces the wonders and worlds of Gullah history and culture. More important, he is always enthusiastic about sharing it with others and allowing them to experience that Gullah history is black history and culture, which is American history and culture.

"I talk about home, horror, heritage and hope," said Daise, author of "Reminiscences of Sea Island Heritage" and "Gullah Branches, West African Roots." "It is poetry, songs and readings form my books. They are based on information I learned firsthand and experienced firsthand, not only by being a Gullah native, but also through my visits to Ghana and Sierra Leone."

His presentations, like those of The Healing Force, include audience participation when telling about the journey of enslaved Africans to Gullah communities.

"Gullah/Geechee culture has shaped, influenced and impacted America to a very large extent, although many people don't realize how significant that influence has been and continues to be," Daise said.

Gullah and Geechee are both words that refer to the lifestyle, dialect and history of descendants of slaves from the west coast of Africa. These proud people were brought to America as slaves to work in rice, indigo, cotton and other plantation goods.

Gullah/Geechee descendants can be found from Jacksonville, N.C., to Jacksonville, Fla., living in and around coastal communities.

"The history of Gullah/Geechee people or African-Americans is not an isolated history," Daise said. "There is a need for every aspect of American society to realize the interconnectivity of each segment and each fabric of American culture."

Helen Benso, vice president of marketing at Brookgreen Gardens, said black history is Brookgreen Gardens' history, too. Daise and others, she added, have done a tremendous job year around in sharing the beauty and gifts of Gullah culture to those living on the Grand Strand and beyond.

"Black history has been such a big part of Brookgreen Gardens' history since the early 1700s," Benso said. "We want to acknowledge and recognize the contributions African-Americans have made to Brookgreen and the whole Lowcountry. Some people don't understand what Gullah culture is and how ti came to be. Part of our mission is education, and we definitely keep that at the forefront. There is so much black history at Brookgreen, and we want to tell that story still."