Marquetta L. Goodwine is a non-sovereign,

elected monarch An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected monarch, in contrast to a hereditary monarchy in which the office is automatically passed down as a family inheritance. The manner of election, the nature of candidate qualifications, and the ...

who serves as Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah Geechee Nation. She is an author, preservationist, and performance artist.

Biography

Goodwine was a native of St. Helena Island,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. She attended

Fordham College Fordham may refer to: Education * Fordham Preparatory School, an all-male, Jesuit high school in New York City * Fordham University, a Jesuit university in New York City ** Fordham Rams, athletic teams of the above university ** Fordham Universi ...

at Lincoln Center and double majored in computer science and mathematics. In 1996 she left Fordham and founded of the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition. In 1999 she became the first Gullah to speak before the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, giving testimony at an April 1 hearing of the Commission on Human Rights in Switzerland. She participated in the United Nations Forum on Minority Rights which was first established in 2008. At the forum, Queen Quet recorded the human rights struggle of the Gullah/Geechee people for archival by the United Nations. On 2 July 2002, Goodwine was elected and enstooled as "Queen Quet, chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation." Goodwine also serves as the Chair of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor General Management Plan and Expert Commissioner for South Carolina. She is a member of the 15-person commission established by the United States Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Act which was passed by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. Goodwine is a public advocate for the Gullah/Geechee Sea Islands in the face of increasing storm damage resulting from the climate crisis as well as ongoing flooding due to overdevelopment and poor infrastructure maintenance. Her work includes advocating and the preservation of Gullah/Geechee cultural traditions and resources that are threatened due to

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

and

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. Goodwine served as a consultant for the 2000

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

film '' The Patriot'', which featured scenes set on the South Carolina coast of the Gullah/Geechee Nation. She has been an advisor to several historic documentaries, including ''This Far by Faith: The African American Religious Experience'', ''The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow'', ''Slavery and the Making of America'', ''Reconstruction: The Second Civil War'', and ''The Will to Survive: The Story of the Gullah/Geechee Nation''. She also lectures throughout the world. She is the founder of a historic presentation troupe "De Gullah Cunneckshun," which has recorded several CDs and been featured on films and film soundtracks. In 2022, she was awarded the Order of the Palmetto by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, who has sought to preserve the Gullah culture in the state.

Books

*Goodwine, Marquetta L. (1995). "St. Helena's Serenity." Gullah/Geechee: The Survival of Africa's Seed in the Winds of the Diaspora series v. 1. Brooklyn, NY: Kinship Publications. *Goodwine, Marquetta L. (1997). ''Gawd dun smile pun we: Beaufort Isles''. Gullah/Geechee the Survival of Africa's Seed in the Winds of the Diaspora series, v. 2. Brooklyn, New York: Kinship Publications. *Goodwine, Marquetta L. (1999). ''Frum wi soul tuh de soil: The Cash Crops of the Sea Islands''. Gullah/Geechee Africa's Seed in the Winds of the Diaspora series, v. 3. Brooklyn, New York: Kinship Publications. *Goodwine, Marquetta L., and & the Clarity Press Gullah Project, eds (1998). ''The Legacy of Ibo Landing: Gullah Roots of African American Culture''. Atlanta, Georgia: Clarity Press. *Goodwine, Marquetta L., and Ronald Goodwine (1994). ''Brother and Sister... Heart to Heart'' (1994). Brooklyn, New York: Extended Kinship Appeal, Inc. *Goodwine, Marquetta L. (2005). "365-66." Gullah/Geechee: The Survival of Africa's Seed in the Winds of the Diaspora series v. 4. St. Helena Island, SC: Kinship Publications. *Goodwine, Marquetta L. (2006). "Chas'tun an e Islandts." Gullah/Geechee: The Survival of Africa's Seed in the Winds of the Diaspora series v. 1. Brooklyn, NY: Kinship Publications. *Goodwine, Ronald "Kuumba", and Marquetta L. "Queen Quet" Goodwine (2004). ''T'inkin' 'bout Famlee: A Geechee Down Novella''. St. Helena, South Carolina: Kinship Publications. *Goodwine, Marquetta L. (2013). "Love's Sea Island Song" St. Helena Island, SC: Kinship Publications.

References

External links

"Gullah/Geechee Nation."Disya Who WEBE!", Gullah/Geechee Nation.Gullah Geechee Angel Network.
from The African Soul site.
"Queen Quet, Head-of-State for the Gullah/Geechee Nation.
*
Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwine, Marquetta American performance artists African-American women writers American women writers African-American writers People from Saint Helena Island, South Carolina Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Gullah African-American women musicians 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women