Inspired by The Cultural Landscape Foundations ‘Landslide 2021 – Race and Space,’ Paulina explored how our surroundings construct identity and culture and the systems that uplift or erase that experience. Focusing on historically significant sites in the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor – an area encompassing the sea islands from Jacksonville Florida to Jacksonville North Carolina – Paulina studied how slavery, emancipation, and environmental injustice shaped the landscapes. The Gullah Geechee are descendants of enslaved Africans who were brought to this region forcefully to grow rice, indigo, and sea island cotton on the outer sea islands. Due to the geographic isolation of these communities, descendants retained their ancestor’s African traditions during enslavement and after emancipation.
Each of the eight sites visited address history in a variety of ways: by utilizing spatial nostalgia to remember what was once there; by recognizing the creativity and craftsmanship of oppressed groups; or by ignoring the past altogether.
Sites Visited:
– Wormsloe Historic Site, Savannah, GA
– Mitchelville Freedom Park, Hilton Head Island, SC
– Daufuskie Island, Hilton Head Island, SC
– Penn Center, St. Helena Island, SC
– Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Ravenal, SC
– Marshview Organic Farm, St. Helena Island, SC
– McLeod Plantation, Charleston, SC
– Addleston Library, Charleston, SC
