7 Questions with Luana Graves Sellars of the Lowcountry Gullah Podcast

 

A native-born New Yorker, Luana Graves Sellars, moved to Florida, and discovered that she was really "a mis-placed Floridian," and knew that snow and nor’easter’s were not meant for her. At Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, she earned a degree in Journalism with a dual minor in Business and Black History.

With her degrees, she was not prepared to live on Hilton Head Island, one of the most culturally rich and historic areas of the South. The island motivated her to become a contributing writer for local magazines with a focus on Gullah culture, its history, people and native island issues by researching, documenting and publishing cultural legacies in an effort towards preservation. In 2021, she expanded  into visual media, by writing and producing cultural videos and documentaries. As the owner of Sankofa Communications, founder of the nonprofit(s) Lowcountry Gullah and the Lowcountry Gullah Foundation, a keynote speaker, writer, filmmaker, community activist and cultural influencer, she is sustaining and preserving Gullah culture for future generations.

1. How and when did you get  hooked on history?

History has always fascinated me and was one of my favorite classes since elementary school. In addition to American History, learning about Black History has always been important to my family, which eventually led to getting a degree in Black History.

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

Today, history has become a constant focus for me everyday, both professionally and personally. The work that I do documenting and preserving Gullah cultural traditions includes the history and in some cases genealogical research, which also lends itself to getting a chance to peek behind the curtain of someone’s past. As a result, my search into my own family lineage has merged into my work and my work has become a personal as well as cultural experience that offers motivation and inspiration for myself and my followers.

3. How does history play  a part of your professional life/career?

In order for me to document the Gullah culture, which is rooted in African traditions, it needs to begin with the history of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, which in turn blends the history and cultures of not only US history, but the history of several African countries. Lowcountry Gullah sole purpose is for future generations as it honors the past.

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

The African proverb of the Sankofa says it best. Symbolized as a bird looking backwards towards an egg, it literally translates to San - go back or return, Ko - to go, Fa - to fetch. In other words, learning from the past is how to improve the future.

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

I would say, that the colonial period and specifically, Black History have always been my favorites. It has become really unexpected and coincidental that my work has become targeted towards the 400 years during slavery.

6.        How did the Lowcountry Gullah podcast come about and what’s a typical episode about? 

The Lowcountry Gullah Podcast is an extension of my writing as a Cultural Influencer. The website www.lowcountrygullah.com offers several options for people to receive and enjoy cultural information through articles, documentaries and video snippets on YouTube and now through the podcast. All of the podcast topics are focused on the Gullah culture, history and traditions as well as the current issues that effect it. Sharing the culture includes stories and interviews with interesting people who I call the Keepers of the Culture.

7.       What do you hope listeners take away from your podcast?

My hope is that people listen to the podcast and are able to grow into and learn about the culture. Unfortunately, as a consequence of slavery, most Black/African Americans don’t have a cultural identity or foundation. Daily, I encounter people who are unaware that they too are Gullah Geechee and are not familiar with their roots or all of the richly significant cultural contributions that are woven into American society. Lowcountry Gullah’s ultimate goal is to educate, inform and culturally ground current and future generations.