Emory Campbell
Encyclopedia
Emory Campbell is a renowned community leader among the Gullah people
, African Americans who live in the coastal low country region of South Carolina
and Georgia
. The Gullahs have preserved more of their African linguistic and cultural heritage than any other black community in the US.
Campbell was born and raised on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
before that island — now an internationally famous resort area — was connected to the mainland by a bridge. When he went to high school on the mainland in the 1950s, he discovered that his Gullah language
was so "deep" that even his African American teachers had trouble understanding him and the other children from the islands. Campbell would later earn a master's degree in environmental engineering from Tufts University in Boston. Throughout his adult life he has been a peacemaker within his community and a bridge-builder between the Gullahs and the outside world.
Campbell began his career in the 1970s as a community development activist, working to implement public health
measures in impoverished rural areas and to preserve traditional Gullah communities threatened by out-of-control resort development on the sea islands. Later, as the Executive Director of Penn Center, Inc. on St. Helena Island, South Carolina Campbell helped lead the movement to preserve Gullah culture and make Gullah people in the rural areas more aware of the importance of their uniquely rich African cultural heritage. Campbell was a member of the committee that translated the New Testament into the Gullah language.
Beginning in the 1980s, Campbell helped spearhead the efforts to reestablish the family connection between the Gullah people and the West Africa
n nation of Sierra Leone
. Campbell hosted Sierra Leone's President Joseph Saidu Momoh
for the "Gullah Reunion" at Penn Center in 1988, and led the historic "Gullah Homecoming" to Sierra Leone in 1989. The Sierra Leoneans made Campbell an honorary paramount chief
with the royal title of Kpaa Kori I. These events are chronicled in the South Carolina Educational Television documentary video "Family Across the Sea" (1990).
In 2005, Campbell received the Carter G. Woodson Memorial Award from the National Education Association
for his lifelong work preserving Gullah heritage, the environment, and improving the Gullah community's living conditions.
In 2008 Mr. Campbell was elected Chairman of the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, an organization empowered by the U.S. Congress to develop a program to commemorate Gullah culture in the low country region from Wilmington, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida.
Campbell is author of Gullah Cultural Legacies (2008), a synopsis of Gullah traditions, customary beliefs, art forms and speech. Campbell is the director of Gullah Heritage Consulting Services based on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and he manages the Gullah Heritage Trail Tours on Hilton Head.
Gullah
The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands....
, African Americans who live in the coastal low country region of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. The Gullahs have preserved more of their African linguistic and cultural heritage than any other black community in the US.
Campbell was born and raised on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Hilton Head Island or Hilton Head is a resort town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is north of Savannah, Georgia, and south of Charleston. The island gets its name from Captain William Hilton...
before that island — now an internationally famous resort area — was connected to the mainland by a bridge. When he went to high school on the mainland in the 1950s, he discovered that his Gullah language
Gullah language
Gullah is a creole language spoken by the Gullah people , an African American population living on the Sea Islands and the coastal region of the U.S...
was so "deep" that even his African American teachers had trouble understanding him and the other children from the islands. Campbell would later earn a master's degree in environmental engineering from Tufts University in Boston. Throughout his adult life he has been a peacemaker within his community and a bridge-builder between the Gullahs and the outside world.
Campbell began his career in the 1970s as a community development activist, working to implement public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
measures in impoverished rural areas and to preserve traditional Gullah communities threatened by out-of-control resort development on the sea islands. Later, as the Executive Director of Penn Center, Inc. on St. Helena Island, South Carolina Campbell helped lead the movement to preserve Gullah culture and make Gullah people in the rural areas more aware of the importance of their uniquely rich African cultural heritage. Campbell was a member of the committee that translated the New Testament into the Gullah language.
Beginning in the 1980s, Campbell helped spearhead the efforts to reestablish the family connection between the Gullah people and the West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n nation of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
. Campbell hosted Sierra Leone's President Joseph Saidu Momoh
Joseph Saidu Momoh
Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh was the President of Sierra Leone from November, 1985 to April 29, 1992.- Biography :...
for the "Gullah Reunion" at Penn Center in 1988, and led the historic "Gullah Homecoming" to Sierra Leone in 1989. The Sierra Leoneans made Campbell an honorary paramount chief
Paramount chief
A paramount chief is the highest-level traditional chief or political leader in a regional or local polity or country typically administered politically with a chief-based system. This definition is used occasionally in anthropological and archaeological theory to refer to the rulers of multiple...
with the royal title of Kpaa Kori I. These events are chronicled in the South Carolina Educational Television documentary video "Family Across the Sea" (1990).
In 2005, Campbell received the Carter G. Woodson Memorial Award from the National Education Association
National Education Association
The National Education Association is the largest professional organization and largest labor union in the United States, representing public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become...
for his lifelong work preserving Gullah heritage, the environment, and improving the Gullah community's living conditions.
In 2008 Mr. Campbell was elected Chairman of the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, an organization empowered by the U.S. Congress to develop a program to commemorate Gullah culture in the low country region from Wilmington, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida.
Campbell is author of Gullah Cultural Legacies (2008), a synopsis of Gullah traditions, customary beliefs, art forms and speech. Campbell is the director of Gullah Heritage Consulting Services based on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and he manages the Gullah Heritage Trail Tours on Hilton Head.