OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Published: Dec. 11, 2022 at 10:25 PM EST|Updated: 18 hours ago

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - A newly formed organization is hoping to bring Gullah history to a historic beach on James Island.

The Gullah Convention and Visitors Bureau held its first event on Mosquito Beach Sunday.

Members of the Quaponda Tribe, a Gullah tribe, say they hope to bring members of the multicultural community together by using music and creativity. The group has worked to preserve the historic beach while adding more family-friendly elements and new assets to use.

The history of the Gullah people dates back generations and Gullah CVB wants to focus on teaching children the history of the tribe, regardless of their ethnicity.

Willis Quaponda, a member of Gullah CVB, says the group’s kids club will work in celebration and exploration of who kids are.

“A future that is actually celebrating our cultures instead of gentrifying our cultures is kind of the overall message because when you tell kids about something that is unfair, they don’t even believe you,” Willis says. “So, how do we explain it to the children; so it makes sense.”

One elder with the tribe, James Gladden, says he wants to bring back their heritage on Mosquito Beach, especially after he says they have been misrepresented back in the past. Gladden is working with organizer Halo Quaponda who hopes the group can learn from each other regardless of age.

“I’m a student of watching children and women be misappropriated and what better place to give them a soul where the adults found the kids in them; they’re the ones with the answers,” Halo says.

Member Max Becker says another tool the group will be using to share Gullah history is music. Becker believes music is a natural connection of bringing two people together.

“Music is very powerful,” Becker says. “I think with what’s going on with the world, there’s been so much division, anything that we could do to bring people together in the natural ways, it’s just a good step in the right direction.”

Behind the legacy of the Quaponda Tribe, Halo says they are living history and their experience is the curriculum. Working with another elder, Bill Wilson, they hope to share history with the tribe to teach younger people about the past.

“We have been living and building things out here for a long time,” Willis says. “Obviously, we’re just one step in a long lineage of people’s things out here.”

LEZ GIZO Kids Club will be at the center of the event meetings from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays at the Blue Building on Mosquito Beach Road. Gullah CVB will meet every Sunday from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

For more information, visit gullahcvb.com.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

By Emily Johnson of Live 5 News