The Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce and Harvard University have taken their partnership to new heights with their latest joint venture focused on economic revitalization.
Since launching in 2018, the Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce has focused on supporting Black-owned businesses and organizations that uplift the Gullah community. Their mission is to enhance visibility, drive profits and foster long-term success. According to Black Enterprise, the organization and the William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice at the Ivy League’s Kennedy School of Government are launching a new initiative aimed at rebuilding the financial health of residents in the Gullah Geechee community.
What’s the plan for the Gullah Geechee community?
In a unified effort, local voices and thought leaders designed a program centered on economic resilience and cultural heritage. Marilyn Hemingway, president of the Gullah Geechee Chamber, asserted the power of self-determination.
“We didn’t come to be included. We came to integrate what we’ve already built,” she told Black Enterprise.
This new development is an extension of the work Harvard has been doing since its initial relationship with the region began in 2017. To champion efforts to sustain the Gullah Geechee heritage, the school became the first Ivy League institution to offer Gullah, a Creole language fusing English and West African roots, that year. Native speaker and linguist Sunn M’Cheaux teaches the available course.
The collective of community leaders, academics, and advocates introduced a five-year plan to fund ongoing efforts and ensure long-term impact. A dedicated council will oversee the work to ensure it remains rooted in Gullah Geechee cultural values, land preservation and economic progress. The goal is to create stronger ties between the Gullah Geechee community, business leaders and global partners across the diaspora — focusing on technology, cultural education and tourism as key drivers of economic growth. This effort serves as a model for how historically excluded communities can take the lead in rebuilding and shaping their economic futures.
Why is now the time to invest in the Gullah Geechee corridor?
Highlighting the deep cultural and economic roots of the Gullah Geechee corridor, Cornell William Brooks of Harvard’s Kennedy School emphasized the urgency and opportunity of this moment in history.
“The Gullah Geechee corridor is rich in culture, cuisine, and unrealized capital. Throughout its existence, it has fed the world with rice, resources, freedom, and the fruit of business and entrepreneurship,” Brooks said in a statement per Black Enterprise.
“In the 1700s, the corridor was one of the wealthiest places in America. There is no greater time, no more propitious a moment than now to achieve an unprecedented level of economic development,” Brooks added.
Next, the team will move into Phase II, focusing on securing funding, implementing plans and ensuring that Gullah Geechee leaders and community voices remain at the forefront.
