The second part of our interview with Mr. Griffin Lotson brings us to our final episode of season two. Mr. Lotson continues his story about Kumbaya. Works discussed: Drums and Shadows: Survival Studies Among the Georgia Coastal Negroes and its connection to Mr. Lotson’s story about Kumbaya as well as the infamous Old Man Thorpe father to my third great grandmother Ethel “Effie” Proctor. He also shares how he became the manager of the nationally acclaimed Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters.  

Music in this episode is courtesy of the Free Music Archive from Makaih Beats “Reflection” (licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License) and Tlebi by Noura Mint Seymali is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.  'Come by Here,' aka 'Kumbaya sung by H. Wylie. Recorded by Robert Winslow Gordon in 1926 (courtesy of The Library of Congress)

Episode Image: Du Bois, W. E. B. The Georgia Negro Darien, McIntosh Co., Ga. Distribution of Negro inhabitants. Georgia Paris Darien France, ca. 1900. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2013650364/.

Rounding out the final two part episode of season two, is Mr. Griffin Lotson, Georgia Commission Vice Chair for the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission,Chief Executive Officer of the non-profit Sams Memorial Community Economic Development, Inc., and manager of the nationally acclaimed Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters.  I sat down with Mr. Lotson last year to discuss his own deep roots in McIntosh County, Georgia heritage and his work to share Gullah Geechee culture globally. He talks about being a part of the beginnings of the creation of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission and how this culture work brought him to share the true story of the famous folk song Kumbaya.  He also shares a very personal story about how he altered the patterns of his cultural speech to meet the violent  expectations of assimilation to “buckra culture" and how proud he is to see so many returning and reclaiming the culture as he did many years ago.”  Music in this episode is courtesy of the Free Music Archive from Makaih Beats “Reflection” (licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License) and Igaghi Anwu by Ugo Mbaise is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.  'Come by Here,' aka 'Kumbaya sung by Henry Wylie, Recorded by Robert Winslow Gordon in 1926 is courtesy of The Library of Congress.

We continue our conversation with Adolphus Armstrong of the Lowcountry DNA Project in this episode. We return once again to the issues of land, removal, heirs property, and exploited labor as those topics relate to Harris Neck and beyond. We also talk about the book The Half Has Never Been Told : Slavery And The Making Of American Capitalism by Edward E. Baptist and how the patterns  of enslavers trafficking stolen African people across the country are seared into the DNA of Black folks today. We also talk about the fantastic podcast Tilling the Soil put out by the staff of the Whitney Plantation, a 200 acre former sugar plantation in Louisiana.  You can contact  Adolphus about the Lowcountry DNA project on Ujima Genealogy’s  Facebook page if you think you have Coastal Georgia roots and want to learn more.. Music in this episode is courtesy of the Free Music Archive from Makaih Beats “Reflection” (licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License) and ”Umbigada” by Kiko Dinucci, Juçara Marçal, Thiago França (licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License).

Researcher and genealogist Terri Ward always says all roads lead back to Coastal Georgia.  This week’s guest, Adolpohus Armstrong,  heads up the Lowcountry DNA Project with Ujima Genealogy, helps people trace those roads of their roots back to Coastal Georgia. Adolphus shares how he got started with the project and the many fascinating stories that have emerged from his work. Learn more about the Lowcountry DNA Project and how you can get involved.  Also mentioned in this episode is the work of researcher Brian Sheffey and his study of “The Weeping Time” on Butler Island Plantation. Music in this episode is courtesy of the Free Music Archive from Makaih Beats “Reflection”, ”Beautiful” by Ketsa (both licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License), and Spleen & Sénégal by Le Chaos Entre 2 Chaises (is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License).

Season two of Curious Roots continues with the second part of our interview with Mr. Winston Relaford.  He shares the difficulties of attempting to get justice from the federal government and the struggle to find politicians who are willing to stand up and do what’s right. Mr. Relaford also reminds us what it means to have Harris Neck restored both to the community and to the cultural legacy of Gullah Geechee descendants across the world. Learn more about the African American Redress Network and their work with Harris Neck and many other communities. 

Support Gullah Geechee communities on St. Helena and Sapelo Island by following Protect St. Helena And Saving Our Legacy Ourself (SOLO). To get started on the journey to find your Coastal Georgia roots, start with Terri Ward and Ujima Genealogy. Music in this episode is courtesy of the Free Music Archive from Makaih Beats “Reflection”  (licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License) and ”Kana Tente” by Foday Musa Suso (licensed under a FMA-Limited: Download Only License). 

Image: Map of Mcintosh  County GA. white with black lines and colorful dots created by W. E. B. Du Bois, The Georgia Negro McIntosh County, Georgia. McIntosh County Paris Georgia France, ca. 1900. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2013650363/.

Curious Roots begins its second season with three two-part interviews with community members and descendants of Harris Neck. Our series of interviews begins with Mr. Winston Relaford  who is the Chairman of the Harris Neck Land Trust and direct descendant and son of Harris Neck. We spoke to Mr. Relaford in July of 2023 to talk about his family’s deep roots in Harris Neck and the community’s continuing struggle for justice. Mr. Relaford’s memories of Harris Neck beautifully recall the community’s deep connection to the land and how the land nourished the echoes of Indigenous West African fishing practices. He also shares his connection to Amelia’s Song and how it connected Harris Neck to the tiny village of Senehun Ngola in Sierra Leone. Referenced in this episode African American Redress Network and The Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor.  Support Gullah Geechee communities on St. Helena and Sapelo Island by following Protect St. Helena And Saving Our Legacy Ourself (SOLO). To get started on the journey to find your Coastal Georgia roots, start with Terri Ward and Ujima Genealogy. Music in this episode is courtesy of the Free Music Archive from  Music in this episode is courtesy of the Free Music Archive from Makaih Beats “Reflection” (licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License) and “Wake Up: It’s  Africa Calling” by Studio Mali (licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License).

In the final bonus episode, we trace the roots of the current unrest in state legislatures across the country to the politics born out of the Reconstruction era.  We discuss the Tennessee state  legislature in particular and how it compares to what happened to the Georgia state legislature under Reconstruction. 

Image of the Tennessee State Capitol Building is courtesy of The Tennessee State Library and Archives. This image of the building was taken during the Civil War when the city of Nashville was under Union control and  was the first Confederate capitol building to fall to the Union Army in February 1862.

Welcome to bonus episode two!  Terri Ward researcher and geneaologist from Ujima Geneaology joins me for a closer look at the legacy of Mustapha Shaw.  Terri and I unpack what instructions this ancestor left for us in his legacy of defiance and "surthrival."

Image of the 33rd United States Colored Infantry Regiment in Beaufort South Carolina courtesy of the Library of Congress.  Mustapha Shaw and my third great grandfather Lester Grant both served with 33rd United States Colored Infantry.  

In this first of three special bonus episodes, Curious Roots, takes a closer look at an episode from Hulu's special 1619 Project docuseries called “Justice” which featured the story of Harris Neck. I break down some thoughts about the episode with genealogist and researcher Terri Ward of Ujima Genealogy of Coastal Georgia.  

Image of the 1940 McIntosh County,Georgia census enumeration district map courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.

We end season one of the podcast by uncovering the roots of the fight to return to Harris Neck and reflect on what the future may hold for this struggle.