The OKRA Soup Foundation

South Carolina born.
Africa retained.
Descendants preserved.

OFFICIAL.

Thank you to our OKRA Soup sponsor, The Berry Group.

Wilmont Berry specializes in residential and commercial real estate serving clients in Orangeburg and surrounding areas. The Berry Group is known for helping people reach their real estate goals with southern hospitality and top tier customer service.

Join our sponsors and community at the Geechee Girls Rock luncheon, Rock the Culture on Saturday, May 11th from 11 AM-2 PM. Click the link in our bio to purchase you're ticket.

Thank you to our Palmetto Sponsor, Goalden Spaces, LLC.

Join our sponsors and community at the Geechee Girls Rock luncheon, Rock the Culture on Saturday, May 11th from 11 AM-2 PM. Click the link in our bio to purchase you're ticket.

Thank you to our Palmetto Sponsor the Doyle Family!

Congratulations to Maia Doyle on completing the program.

As the Southeast's leader in integrity-driven, compassion-centered asset management J.H.W. Property Management, Inc. is proud to support the inaugural class of Geechee Girls Rock and The O.K.R.A. Soup Foundation's tireless work in uplifting, empowering, and inspiring the next generation of Gullah Geechee leaders and change makers.

Thank you to our Palmetto Sponsor, Hodges Management, LLC. Jazzmine is native from the Low Country (N. Charleston). Started her own Real Estate Investment company in 2020, with hopes of servicing those who are in need of a place to call home. She specialize in rentals & buying distressed properties. Looking to sell? Contact Jazz! “The risk is great, but the reward is greater!

Thank you to our Geechee Girl Experience sponsor, Chick-fil-a of Orangeburg.

Join our sponsors and community at the Geechee Girls Rock luncheon, Rock the Culture on Saturday, May 11th from 11 AM-2 PM. Click the link in our bio to purchase you're ticket.

Jayn we een Chucktown, SC fa de 3rd Annual Gullah Moja Arts Experience"🎉 een de Gullah/Geechee Nation.

Bring de famlee fa honor de ancestas and sound de drums 🎶 of freedum wid we een Charleston, SC 🌎!

It's Going Down Sept 30, 2023 12pm - 3pm at Pure Theater on Cannon Street in Downtown Charleston, SC.

Enjoy a "Gullah/Geechee" afternoon of "Spoken Gullah/Geechee Talk & Ourstory, featuring Queen Quet , Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, Artwork 🎨 by Gullah/Geechee Quadre' Stuckey, Poetry by Georgia Nubia and Elder Carlie Towne, Singing by Gullah Singers 🎶 African Drumming and Dancing, and More Performers and Surprises.

www.GullahGeecheeFamilyFoundation.com
www.GullahGeecheeNation.com

https://www.facebook.com/100063458230145/posts/853095030149097/?mibextid=cr9u03

Do you know Dr. Jessica R. Berry She is the Founder and President, The OKRA Soup Foundation.

Dr. Jessica Berry is a passionate advocate for the celebration and preservation of Gullah Geechee language, culture, and history. She is the creator of the first professional development sessions that introduce educators to nuances of the culture and inform them of how to embrace the language in their classrooms.

She founded The O.K.R.A. Soup Foundation as a way to further her work by educating Gullah Geechee youth about the culture and creating a pathway for the development of the next generation of Gullah Geechee preservationists.

Her favorite saying is, “Gullah Geechee Been Ya, een gwine no where.” Her hope is to leave all she knows with the youth so that they can carry the culture into the future.

We are excited about her vision and what The OKRA Soup Foundation is doing in the community. Want to get involved? Email us at [email protected] or send us a Direct Message.

Gullah Geechee Words of the Week!

Embracing the rich heritage of the Gullah Geechee people, rooted in the land and culture. From the native Gullah Geechee area to a powerful movement, we celebrate our roots and preserve our traditions. Come ya and join us on this remarkable journey! 🌿✨ "

The Little Gullah Geechee Book: A Guide for the Come Ya
By Dr. Jessica Berry

Book overview:

There is a hidden treasure on the tongues of Low-country natives. The melodic rhythm of the Gullah Geechee language still rings strong from the South Carolina inland regions to the Sea Island coasts. Whether you are a tourist traveling through the low-country corridor, a come ya who has made the low-country your new home, or a been ya who was born and raised under the moss of the beautiful oak trees, there is always something to learn about Gullah Geechee. This pocket-guide to the Gullah Geechee history, culture, and language will give you a brief introduction to a United States gem.

Get a copy on Amazon and gift one to a friend:

The Little Gullah Geechee Book: A Guide for the Come Ya https://a.co/d/3l3Obrk

Check out our very own and sign up today!

Join us on-site or online for
"Gullah Geechee Creole Persistence" with Dr.
Jessica Berry on July 14 at 6:00pm!
"This hybrid, Zoom session, will explore scholar documented persistent unique creole linguistic structures in the Gullah language and a discussion of the trajectory of their current use and continued existence." -


This program is free and open to the public. Register to join via Zoom below!

https://tinyurl.com/mr48k4m3

via 📸

American artisan blacksmith Philip Simmons. Mr. Simmons was born in 1912, apprenticed as a blacksmith at age of 13. At that time blacksmiths worked on practical items such as horseshoes. At the age of 18 he became a full blacksmith. However, Mr. Simmons went so much further with his art and began to focus on decorative iron work. Examples of his 77 years of iron work can be seen in gates, balconies, and archways throughout Charleston and the Lowcountry. His work is also displayed at The Smithsonian Museum, South Carolina State Museum, Paris, France and China. He received a National Heritage Fellowship in 1982 from the National Endowment for the Arts.

He retired at age 77 but continued to teach his craft to younger artisans. In 1991 his church St. John's Reformed Episcopal formed a foundation to develop and maintain a commemorative garden as a tribute to Mr. Simmons and his work. Mr. Simmons designed the Double Hearted Gate as the entrance to that garden at 91 Anson Street, shown here in image 2. In 2006 he received an honorary Doctorate from South Carolina State University for his contributions to the field of metalworking.

Most of his work was created in his workshop at his home on Blake Street where he is pictured in the photos above. I had the honor to interview him in 2004. What a gift he was to our city and the world. He died at the age of 97 on June 22, 2009. His memory will live on through his work and through all of those who he touched throughout his 97 years.

How Geechee Are You?

Congratulations on the grand opening of the International African American Museum!!!!

We can’t wait to explore our history here.

A dream come true— the doors to the International African American Museum are officially open today!

Timed tickets are REQUIRED for entry, and we’re currently sold out through July 4, 2023. Visit iaamuseum.org to plan your visit!

New Gullah Geechee cultural heritage center opens at Georgia Southern University A new place to learn about Gullah Geechee culture opens in Savannah

We are so grateful for your support and excitement along with your desire to get involved with our organization! Now is your chance to get involved! Let us know how you would like to serve and we will get back with you soon to get started. We been ya…we ain’t goin no where! Go to this link to sign up:

https://forms.gle/Z7mBn5ebJJXs1HJx8

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Emily Meggett, a Southern home cook who never measured her ingredients or used recipes but became one of America’s most important Gullah Geechee cooks and last year published a best-selling cookbook on Gullah Geechee cuisine, died on Friday at her home in Edisto Island, S.C. She was 90.

Her daughter Lavern Meggett said she died after a short illness.

Mrs. Meggett had been cooking for nearly 80 years before “Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes From the Matriarch of Edisto Island,” was published in April of last year — the first high-profile cookbook centered on the food of the descendants of the enslaved people of the coastal South. She had collaborated with a mostly Black team to create it.

“She left us with a lifetime of work that was overlooked and undervalued for years,” said Kayla Stewart, the book’s co-author. (Ms. Stewart has written for The New York Times.) “She really moved the needle in terms of how we’re talking about Gullah Geechee cuisine and culture.”

“Gullah Geechee Home Cooking” became a New York Times best seller last July, and on Wednesday it was nominated for a 2023 James Beard book award in the category of U.S. Foodways.
By Christina Morales
Published April 26, 2023
Updated April 28, 2023