Family Across the Sea: Gullahs go to Sierra Leone
Channel: Fambul Tik - Leading African Heritage Tours
Date: 2022-02-10

It started in October of 1988 when President Joseph Saidu Momoh of Sierra Leone visited a Gullah community at Penn Center on Saint Helena Island, SC.  He was convinced by historical research presented by historians that there were important connections between Sierra Leoneans and the Gullah-Geechees and he wanted to see that for himself.  Momoh was so impressed by the cultural and language similarities that he invited Dr. Emory Campbell, the Director of Penn Center at that time, to lead a “Gullah Homecoming” to Sierra Leone.  This created a national sensation in Sierra Leone.  It was the first time Sierra Leoneans were experiencing relations with long-distance cousins.  It ended up in a PBS documentary by South Carolina Educational Television called Family Across the Sea which was played on PBS stations across the country.