Black History

The Geechee Experience Entertains and Educates in Endeavor to Preserve Geechee Culture

CHARLESTON CHRONICLE — Akua Page and Chris Cato have taken the Lowcountry by storm with their creation, The Geechee Experience. A cultural movement that fuses education with entertainment, The Geechee Experience “is a cultural platform that was created by Geechee millennials on a mission to preserve their culture and language,” the group maintains.

Published

6 years ago

April 13, 2019

Oakland Post

By Damion Smalls

Akua Page and Chris Cato have taken the Lowcountry by storm with their creation, The Geechee Experience. A cultural movement that fuses education with entertainment, The Geechee Experience “is a cultural platform that was created by Geechee millennials on a mission to preserve their culture and language,” the group maintains.

The Geechee Experience works to dispel longstanding notions that Geechee is not a language or is a “broken” language. Those misinformed opinions have led to Geechee’s endangered importance in Black culture and an outright pursuit of erasure by the descendants of the same colonizing European Americans that enslaved Africans for centuries and now consist of the majority of the U.S. population.

“We were thinking of ways to preserve the culture and language,” Page recalls. After months of brainstorming, Page and Cato combined their efforts by launching The Geechee Experience in late 2018. Using the knowledge of Black excellence that was purposely left out of U.S. school history books and an determination to steer the undertold African-American narrative towards empowerment, Page and Cato are already well on their way to becoming catalysts of the next generation of the Lowcountry’s Black youth with their innovative venture.

“Geechee is a variation of the Gullah language. Gullah is an English based creole language that developed by enslaved Africans living in coastal regions of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida,” the group explains.

In modern times, whites have attempted to culturally appropriate Geechee through various means, like adding the historical Geechee plant sweetgrass to the names of businesses that do nothing for or have nothing to do with the Black community, opening restaurants clearly influenced by Geechee cuisine without attributing credit or respect, redefining what Geechee actually means, or selling products that incorporate the culture while remaining ignorant of the history behind it. The Geechee Experience is trying to help more Black people embrace the culture and combat the dehumanization efforts that have derailed Geechee’s mainstream acceptance in the past.

The boomtown-like presence of Geechee Experience’s social media pages has led to its inspiring popularity in a relatively short period of time. With over 20,000 Facebook+Instagram followers and over a half-million video views reached within six months of its initial launch, it’s safe to say that an audience has been waiting in the wings for a movement such The Geechee Experience. The brand can also be found on YouTube (@Geechee X) and Twitter (@GeecheeExperie1). Exclusive brand merchandise may be purchased on geecheeexperience.com.

“Some of our people are ashamed of their culture, but the United States is Geechee,” declares Cato. In their videos and social posts, the movement discusses topics such as the difference between Gullah and Geechee, the Geechee language, Black health, literature, community building, and Black farming. They often use humor and anecdotal revelations to relate to a growing audience that has accepted their down-to-earth personalities and candor. The use of Geechee words and phrases are a common aspect of their engaging posts. Locals are seeing how their vocabularies and vernacular are closely related to Geechee culture without previously realizing it. And the people who do realize the connections are getting on board with this spirited salute to Geechee.

“Gullah is mainly spoken on the islands by elders and is on the verge of extinction. Geechee is more commonly spoken by Geechee/Gullah people across generations,” the duo defines. By spreading awareness and information for the powerful history of Geechee, the millennial pair aspire to champion their cause to instill pride and optimism within the people.

Page and Cato are sharing their culture with the world with the hope that they can prevent the Geechee language from dying. In their attempts to do so, The Geechee Experience is requesting the assistance of the local Black community. As young Blacks that respect for the contributions of Charleston’s Black leaders of the past, The Geechee Experience is looking for ways to evolve, learn everyday from history, and bridge the gap between millennials and Baby Boomers. “We are open to suggestions from the elders,” the group notes.

You can catch the Geechee Experience live in person in North Charleston Saturday, April 27 at the second annual Charleston Sol-Food Veg Fest. Taking place at the Jenkins Institute (3923 Azalea Drive) from 11am to 5pm, the event aims to connect with Black businesses, create a platform for vegans, promote healthy habits, and bring more Black people towards a plant-based lifestyle. The Geechee Experience will take part of the Sol-Food Veg Fest as a featured vendor. Visit csfvegfest.com to purchase tickets.

This article originally appeared in the Charleston Chronicle.

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Activism

The Best Advice for Raising Children: Discipline That Makes Sense

In his book Developing Positive Self Images and Discipline in Black Children, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu suggests that primary aims for socializing Black children should be: establishing goals related to God and the church; familiarizing children with religious texts like the Bible or Quran; educating them of Black culture like Khemetic (Egyptian) Civilization; enlightening them about Black leaders like Malcolm X and Sojourner Truth; and teaching them to strive to be employers, not employees.

Published

2 days ago

May 13, 2025

Oakland Post

Headshot of Dr. William A. Thomas. Photo courtesy of Dr. William A. Thomas.

By William A. Thomas, Ph.D.

In many African societies, the primary aim of socialization is to raise children to be socially responsible and eventually provide economic support to their parents and extended families. Ghanaian philosopher Kwame Gyekye taught that children are raised to be respectful of the wishes of their parents and extended adult family members.

In his book Developing Positive Self Images and Discipline in Black Children, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu suggests that primary aims for socializing Black children should be: establishing goals related to God and the church; familiarizing children with religious texts like the Bible or Quran; educating them of Black culture like Khemetic (Egyptian) Civilization; enlightening them about Black leaders like Malcolm X and Sojourner Truth; and teaching them to strive to be employers, not employees.

Effective disciplinary strategies appropriate to a child’s age and development teach them to regulate their behavior; keep them from harm; enhance their cognitive, social, and emotional executive functioning skills; and reinforce the behavioral patterns taught by their parents and caregivers.

Below are some specific guidelines for disciplining children.

Listen to what children are talking about with interest and show them you understand their feelings. Remember, children mirror and learn about their emotional selves by hearing their feelings reflected back to them. Staying on target also means avoiding labels. When children fail to do what is expected, discussing it is helpful rather than saying how stubborn, lazy, dumb, or bad they are. By the same token, more positive labels can be helpful.

Dependability is another essential component of the discipline process. When parents are dependable, their children learn what to expect and are helped to feel secure. When parents are consistent, children learn to trust, that is, predict their parents’ behaviors with certainty. A child thinks, “When I spill something, I will always be asked to wipe it up.” A child thinks, “If I use foul language, I will always be corrected.” A child thinks, “If I take something that doesn’t belong to me, I will always have to give it back.” The ability to predict with certainty leads children to rely on their parents and the village/community in which they live. Children feel safe when they know what to expect.

Conclusions

It takes a village/community to raise the divine gift that is the Black child. Parents look to therapists for guidance concerning a variety of parenting issues, including discipline. Keep in mind that evidence suggests that corporal punishment is both ineffective in the long term and associated with cognitive and mental health disorders. When parents want guidance about the use of spanking, a child therapist can explore parental feelings, help them better define the goals of discipline, and offer specific behavior management strategies. In addition to providing appropriate education to families, the Bay Area Association of Black Psychologists (Bay ABPsi) can refer them to community resources, like parenting groups and classes.

About the Author

Dr. Thomas is a licensed clinical psychologist with a private practice in the SF/Oakland Bay Area and Beaumont. He is a member of Bay ABPsi, a healing resource committed to providing the Post Newspaper readership with monthly discussions about critical issues in Black Mental Health. Readers are welcome to join us at our monthly chapter meetings every 3^rd Saturday via Zoom and contact us at bayareaabpsi@gmail.com.