During Black History Month, we’re spotlighting the people and communities shaping our city.
The Gullah Geechee community has deep roots in Jacksonville. Beyond the streets and shorelines lives a story of survival, identity, and heritage.
Florida’s Commissioner for the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, Ashantae Green, carries that history personally. The corridor is a national heritage area created by Congress to preserve and honor Gullah Geechee culture, and Green says her roots are shaped by her Gullah Geechee grandmother and the traditions passed down through her family.
“Being Gullah Geechee is just not an ancestral thing for me. It’s in the fabric of who I am and it’s a really, really big part of my identity,” she said.
Gullah Geechee people are descendants of West and Central Africans enslaved on plantations in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida.
Many were first brought to South Carolina, then migrated across the Southeast after the Civil War. Today, Jacksonville is the southernmost point in the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor — and home to the largest concentration of Gullah Geechee descendants in the world outside of South Carolina.
“There’s a lot of people in Jacksonville that don’t know they’re Gullah Geechee, but they are,” Green explained.
What makes the culture unique is how African customs, language patterns, and traditions survived generations of slavery and segregation.
Author Greg Estevez, whose ancestors are from Edisto Island, South Carolina, has documented that history and its Florida connections.
“When you are talking about the Gullah Geechee people, not only are you talking about language, but you’re also talking about music, the arts, the foodways,” Estevez said.
That legacy lives on in Southern cuisine — rice once cultivated by enslaved hands, okra, seafood — and in traditional basket weaving and community gatherings.
You can also hear it in the sound of American music: the call-and-response traditions that shaped gospel, jazz and blues, especially in Jacksonville’s historic LaVilla neighborhood.
“When you think about the foundations of gospel music, call and response, the foundation of jazz and blues were here in LaVilla. That came from Gullah Geechee people,” Green said.
Faith has always been central. On December 31, 1862, enslaved Africans gathered in churches and fields for what became known as Watch Night — waiting for the Emancipation Proclamation to take effect at midnight on January 1, 1863.
Green said that practice grew from the Gullah Geechee people
“That’s something that originated from Gullah Geechee people and the practice of watching in the fields and just watching for when freedom would come,” she said. “Faith is something that is really important in the Gullah Geechee culture.”
Estevez said that it’s a diverse but tightly woven community.
“It’s a diverse community. But it’s a tight-knit community. It’s family-centered. It’s definitely faith-centered. It was actually the churches that cracked the code between the community and the culture,” he said.
In Jacksonville, many enslaved Gullah Geechee people were forced to labor at Kingsley Plantation. After slavery, families built communities across the city — including LaVilla, East Arlington, and Mandarin — carrying their traditions forward.
Today, Green uses her platform to ensure that legacy is preserved and passed on, especially to young people searching for their own identities.
“I really want them to be empowered and to know their ancestry. My grandmother told me so much of who you are is where you’ve been. Knowing where you come from, having pride in the power that comes from your roots, is so empowering,” she said.
Across Jacksonville, landmarks and neighborhoods honor the lasting contributions of Gullah Geechee people — from historic sites like Kingsley Plantation to cultural hubs shaped by their music, food, and faith.
The Jacksonville Gullah Geechee Nation Community Development Corporation continues that work year-round, educating and uplifting the community through events, outreach, and storytelling that keep this living culture alive.
Chef Andrea Bryant-Smith with Green Legacy Farm and Farmery specializes in Gullah Geechee cuisine. She said cooking cultural staples like Gullah Red Rice and Gullah Red Drink, which is a hibiscus tea, is a form of empowerment. (See authentic red rice recipe below)
“The reason I eat it now is because it brings me closer to my ancestors and family,” she said.
Bryant-Smith has formed partnerships with hotels and museums throughout Jacksonville, creating Gullah Geechee-inspired menus so the community can enjoy the food enjoyed by her ancestors.
Mandarin Museum has an exhibit dedicated to the Gullah Geechee community.
The museum is hosting an event called the Untold Story of Black Mandarin from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Feb. 28.
Authentic Gullah Red Rice
Featuring Carolina Gold Rice | Serves 10
Ingredients
4 cups Carolina Gold rice or Jasmine (rinsed until water is clear)
1.5 lb smoked sausage or smoked turkey sausage, sliced
4 slices bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
5cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
6 tablespoons tomato paste
5 cups chicken or seafood stock
2 tsp sea salt
2 Tbl brown sugar
1 tsp black pepper
3 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp oil and bacon drippings
- Optional: 1 tbsp Farmery All-Purpose Seasoning
- Optional: 1 tbsp Gullah Roots Seasoning
Instructions (Stove Top + Oven Method)
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a heavy Dutch oven, heat oil and brown sausage and bacon. Remove and set aside.
3. Sauté onion, bell pepper, and celery until softened (5–7 minutes). Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add half of seasoning.
4. Stir in tomato paste and cook until slightly darkened to deepen flavor.
5. Add crushed tomatoes, stock, remaining seasonings, and meat. Bring to a gentle boil.
6. Stir in rinsed rice. Bring back to a gentle boil. Do not over stir.
7. Cover tightly and transfer to oven. Bake 35–40 minutes until rice is tender.
8. Remove and let rest covered 10 minutes. Fluff gently with fork and serve.
Traditionally served with fried fish, smothered shrimp, fried chicken, greens or just alone.