Newspaper Page Text
The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, June 24, 2009 - 3
SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS
Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage
Corridor Commission Seeks
Community Input
Throughout mid-July,
the Gullah/Geechee Cultural
Heritage Corridor
Commission (GGCHCC) is
conducting public engage
ment meetings to capture
comments from
Gullah/Geechee community
members about how they want
the GGCHCC to recognize
and manage places, things,
and traditions considered
important to them.
If you would like to par
ticipate, you may submit com
ments electronically by visit
ing us online at http://park-
planning.nps.gov/guge. Once
there, just click on
Gullah/Geechee Cultural
Heritage Corridor.
This information and
insight will be compiled in a
Management Plan that,
together with an environmen
tal assessment, will provide
the foundation that will guide
program development, protect
natural and cultural resources,
and the management direction
of the corridor for the next 10
to 15 years.
Your attendance at these
meetings is encouraged and
welcomed.
Several questions have
been circulating since the
development of this commis
sion and the increased focus
on the Gullah/Geechee people
and their communities.
These questions are addressed
below:
Is the Gullah/Geechee
Cultural Heritage Corridor
Commission the same thing
as the Gullah/Geechee
Nation?
No, the Gullah/Geechee
Cultural Heritage Corridor
Commission and the
Gullah/Geechee Nation are
two distinct and separate enti
ties. The only nation repre
sented by the GGCHCC col
lectively is the United States
of America. Along this his
toric corridor, enslaved
Africans and their descen
dants, including many of our
ancestors, worked the rice,
cotton, and indigo plantations
that made our country, the
United States of America, a
great nation.
Just where is the
Gullah/Geechee Cultural
Heritage Corridor?
The four-state cultural her
itage corridor is a congression-
ally designated National
Heritage Area that encom
passes coastal communities
from Wilmington, NC,
through South Carolina and
Georgia, to Jacksonville, FL,
and extends about 30 miles
inland. These historic lands
and communities have been
inhabited by Gullah/Geechee
people for more than three
centuries. The GGCHCC is
grateful for our collaboration
with the National Park Service
and the Denver Service Center
to develop a management plan
that will represent a departure
from traditional methods and
outcomes.
What is the Role of the
Gullah/Geechee Cultural
Heritage Corridor
Commission?
Legislation, authored by
Congressman James E.
Clybum, established the
GGCHCC as a commission of
15 members and 10 alternates
appointed by the U.S.
Secretary of the Interior.
Administered by the National
Park Service, the commission
is legislated to preserve and
interpret the community's
pride in its history and tradi
tions and to provide educa
tional and inspirational oppor
tunities that invite the public
and residents to visit and learn
about an important aspect of
American culture.
Is there an official
Gullah/Geechee spokesper
son?
No. Although I am the
Chairman of the commission,
each commission member is
an authority on aspects of our
culture. Each commissioner
has expertise in fields ranging
from anthropology to educa
tion, research, community
development, performing arts,
and writing. As Chairman, I
make official public state
ments about the GGCHCC;
however, no one individual is
spokesperson for the commis
sion or the Gullah/Geechee
community.
How can we get up-to-date
information?
Please contact one of the com
missioners representing your
state or Michael Allen,
National Park Service Gullah
Geechee Coordinator, at 843-
2 9 7 - 3 8 3 6
(Michael_Allen@nps.gov).
We want you to know us, and
we want to know you. We
want you to know how we've
organized and what we've set
as our Mission and Vision.
We look forward to hearing
your comments about the
development of the GGCHCC
during public engagement
meetings in or near your com
munity.
How do I find out who the
commissioners are and the
states they represent?
You can begin by attending
the public engagement meet
ings or by placing your com
ments at
http://parkplanning.nps.gOv/g
uge. Just click on
Gullah/Geechee Cultural
Heritage Corridor.
The list of meeting locations
HUD Receives Record
Number of
Discrimination Claims
WASHINGTON (NNPA) -
More than 10,000
housing discrimination
complaints were filed in
2008, according to a report
released last week by the
U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban
Development.
The report, which is
produced for Congress each
year, shows 44 percent of
the 10,552 cases were filed
by persons with disabilities.
Thirty-
five percent, or 3,699, of the
complaints alleged discrim
ination by African
Americans and other people
of color based on race.
“Despite progress,
housing discrimination con
tinues in America. We must
put a stop to it and stand up
for anyone who is unlawful
ly denied a home of their
own,” said John Trasvina,
HUD assistant secretary for
Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity. “Fighting
against housing discrimina
tion and affirmatively fur
thering fair housing are twin
priorities of HUD and the
Obama administration.”
A copy of the report
can be found at HUD.Gov.
dates and times as well as the
commissioners' names and
the states they represent also
may be viewed there.
With your input, the
success of developing a cul
tural heritage corridor of the
Gullah/Geechee community,
for the Gullah/Geechee com
munity, and by and about the
Gullah/Geechee community
will be well underway!
We all are committed to
seeking partners and funding
and working to preserve and
celebrate our rich culture and
heritage.
By: Emory S. Campbell
Gullah/Geechee Cultural
Heritage Corridor
Commission (GGCHCC)
Savannah State Students attend
Summer Science Intern Program
Two Savannah State
University students are
attending the new Woods
Hole Partnership Education
Program (PEP), a summer
science intern program
designed to promote diversi
ty in the Woods Hole, Mass.,
science community while
giving students real-world
exposure to the issues facing
today’s scientists.
The students are Sanya
Compton of Saint Vincent
and Grenadines, West Indies,
who graduated with honors
in May, and Shamgan
Perkins, a senior from
Albany, Ga. Both marine sci
ence majors, they are among
16 undergraduate students
from 11 colleges throughout
the United States attending
PEP, which includes a four-
week course focused
on
global climate change fol
lowed by six-to-eight weeks
on individual research proj
ects.
The program targets
juniors and seniors who have
had some course work in
oceanography or marine
and/or environmental sci
ences.
During PEP, which
began June 2 and will con
tinue through August,
Compton and Perkins will
participate in seminars,
workshops, field trips, sea
excursions and give oral pre
sentations about their
research projects.
The interns will also
engage in career develop
ment activities with
researchers from all over the
world. Each intern will
receive a stipend, room and
board, travel allowance and
course tuition.
PEP is a project of the
Woods Hole Diversity
Initiative, a multi-institution
al effort that launched in
2004.
Participating institu
tions and initiative members
include the Marine
Biological Laboratory,
Northeast Fisheries Science
Center of NOAA’s National
Marine Fisheries Service,
Sea Education Association,
U.S. Geological Survey,
Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution and the Woods
Hole Research Center.
Established in 1890,
Savannah State University is
on the move to become the
best value-added university
in the nation.
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