Emory Campbell
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Emory Campbell is a community leader among the
Gullah people The Gullah () are an African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. Their language and cultu ...
, African Americans who live in the coastal low country region of
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 = ...
and
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
. The Gullahs have preserved more of their African linguistic and cultural heritage than any other black community in the US. Campbell was born and raised on
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and southwest of C ...
before that island — now an internationally famous resort area — was connected to the mainland by a bridge. When he went to high school on the mainland in the 1950s, he discovered that his
Gullah language Gullah (also called Gullah-English, Sea Island Creole English, and Geechee) is a creole language spoken by the Gullah people (also called "Geechees" within the community), an African-American population living in coastal regions of South Caro ...
was so "deep" that even his African American teachers had trouble understanding him and the other children from the islands. Campbell would later earn a bachelor's degree in biology from
Savannah State University ) , established = , closed = , type = Public historically black university , parent = University System of Georgia , academic_affiliation = Space-grant , endowment ...
and a master's degree in environmental engineering from Tufts University in Boston. Throughout his adult life he has been a peacemaker within his community and a bridge-builder between the Gullahs and the outside world. Campbell began his career in the 1970s as a community development activist, working to implement
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
measures in impoverished rural areas and to preserve traditional Gullah communities threatened by out-of-control resort development on the sea islands. Later, as the Executive Director of Penn Center, Inc. on St. Helena Island, South Carolina Campbell helped lead the movement to preserve Gullah culture and make Gullah people in the rural areas more aware of the importance of their uniquely rich African cultural heritage. Campbell was a member of the committee that translated the New Testament into the Gullah language. Beginning in the 1980s, Campbell helped spearhead the efforts to reestablish the family connection between the Gullah people and the
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
n nation of
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
. Campbell hosted Sierra Leone's President
Joseph Saidu Momoh Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh, OOR, OBE (January 26, 1937 – August 3, 2003) served as President of Sierra Leone from November 1985 to 29 April 1992. Early life and education Joseph Saidu Momoh was born on January 26, 1937, in Binkolo, B ...
for the "Gullah Reunion" at Penn Center in 1988, and led the historic "Gullah Homecoming" to Sierra Leone in 1989. These events took place in the capital, Freetown, and the Mende village of Taiama. The Sierra Leoneans made Campbell an honorary
paramount chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a chief-based system. This term is used occasionally in anthropological and arch ...
with the royal title of Kpaa Kori I. These events are chronicled in the South Carolina Educational Television documentary video "Family Across the Sea" (1990). In 2005, Campbell received the Carter G. Woodson Memorial Award from the
National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...
for his lifelong work preserving Gullah heritage, the environment, and improving the Gullah community's living conditions. In 2008 Mr. Campbell was elected Chairman of the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, an organization empowered by the U.S. Congress to develop a program to commemorate Gullah culture in the low country region from Wilmington, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida. Campbell is author of ''Gullah Cultural Legacies'' (2008), a synopsis of Gullah traditions, customary beliefs, art forms and speech. Campbell is the director of Gullah Heritage Consulting Services based on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and he manages the Gullah Heritage Trail Tours on Hilton Head.


References


External links


Campbell Honored Gullah Bible Translation "The History Makers" Penn Center "Family Across the Sea" Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Campbell's book, "Gullah Cultural Legacies" Radio Interview with Emory Campbell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Emory Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Hilton Head, South Carolina Gullah African-American activists 21st-century African-American people