On Wednesday, November 20, renowned historian Joseph Opala gave an insightful Zoom presentation. Mr. Opala spoke about his work with the “Gullah Connection.” He helped to establish a link between the people of West Africa, particularly Sierra Leone, and the Gullah Geechee people of the Lowcountry Region of the United States.
His research began with Bunce Island, which is the “British slave castle in Sierra Leone that was a departure point for many enslaved Africans who were shipped to South Carolina and Georgia in the mid- and late 18th century Middle Passage” (Wikipedia). He was the first scholar to recognize that Bunce Island has greater importance for the Gullah than any other West African slave castle, and he designated it as “the most important historic site in Africa for the United States” (Wikipedia).
He began his presentation by discussing how he had joined the Peace Corps in 1974 and was sent to Sierra Leone to work with rice farmers. And this seemed appropriate because his life’s work would involve studying how rice had deeply affected Sierra Leonians and their American kinfolk, the Gullah. Opala stated that rice was the most important crop for the American colonies before the Revolutionary War. He went on to state that the first scholar to point this out was Peter Wood in his book Black Majority, which was published in 1974.
Opala would go on to live and work in Sierra Leone, off and on, for the next thirty years. As he deepened his study about Sierra Leone, he also expanded his research to include the Gullah and then eventually the Black Seminoles. Opala was born and raised in Oklahoma, yet when he learned about the Black Seminoles in his early twenties, this was a new discovery for him. He had not been taught about them in school. Included in his studies would be the languages that were spoken in each region—Krio (Sierra Leone), Gullah (Lowcountry region), Afro-Seminole Creole (Black Seminoles of Florida, Oklahoma, Mexico, and Texas).
Mr. Opala’s presentation was two hours and twenty minutes, but there was not a dull moment. Attendees were captivated. Mr. Opala, along with being an amazing historian, is also a gifted storyteller. He kept the audience rapt with his expertise. Following his presentation was a short Q&A, in which attendees asked questions that allowed for more follow-up. These questions often led into more questions. And it became a conversation.
