University Libraries Promotion and Tenure Recognition

It is the small, but critical tasks of daily life that I find most stimulating and reflective of the quality of essential, personal, community, and social values." ~Jonathan Green

The essays and images assembled in this collection tell of the vitality of the Gullah people -- direct descendents of slaves who labored on South Carolina's barrier island rice plantations in the early 1800s. Because of their geographical isolation and strong community life, Gullah islanders have retained much of their West African heritage and have transformed it into a rich and distinct African-American culture. In Gullah Images, Jonathan Green's vibrant paintings depict everyday life and the people he knew as a child ~ pictures of a way of life that may be vanishing. His work ranges from scenes of spring planting, men picking oysters, and wind-blown sheets on laundry day to special occasions such as community dances, river baptisms, weddings, and funerals.

For a brief history of Gullah culture and efforts to save it from extinction, see PBS - Gullah History Primer: http://www.pbs.org/now/arts/gullah.html and Culture in Danger of Fading Away: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/06/0607_wiregullah.html