IGGAD: International Gullah Geechee and African Diaspora Conference

In 2019, Coastal Carolina University was asked by Heather Hodges, executive director of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, to start a conference focused on Gullah Geechee and African Diaspora Studies. The director of the Joyner Institute for Gullah and African Diaspora Studies, Eric Crawford,  and I were the founding organizers of the conference. We developed and ran the conference in 2019, and 2020; then, as interim director, I directed the conference solo in 2022.

One of my favorite aspects of the conference is Gullah Geechee Day, a simultaneous community-based event that was located in Historic Downtown Conway, the historically white portion of the town. For one Saturday a year (only halting in 2021 due to the pandemic), Gullah Geechee culture occupies and collaborates with the museum, library, historic society, visitor’s center, and city buildings to showcase the brilliance of the African Diaspora in this coastal Carolina community.

Collaborating with the talented design students with the Athenaeum Press and our creative director, Scott Mann, we developed a unique look and feel for the conference and program each year. The Press (and I) are continued supporters and partners of the conference and surrounding events each year.