Resilience and Empowerment: The Impact of Gullah and Maroon Cultural Preservation on Pan-Africanism and Civil Rights Movements

This dissertation investigates the history of the cultural resilience and advocacy of the Gullah people of South Carolina and the Maroons of Jamaica, with a particular emphasis on their function as role models for the empowerment of descendants of the formerly enslaved (DOFE). This investigation examines how enslaved communities preserved cultural identity, resisted systemic injustice and influenced Pan-Africanism and Civil Rights movements in the 20th and 21st centuries. This research emphasizes the experiences of the Gullah people who maintained cultural identity through acculturation, and the enslaved populations from South Carolina’s interior regions and other Southern states, who faced assimilation. Additionally, it compares the Jamaican Maroons, who retained sovereignty, with the enslaved people on Jamaican sugar plantations who experienced both cultural acculturation and administrative assimilation. Regardless of the pressures of economic exploitation, colonial rule, and discriminatory legislation, the Gullahs and Maroons preserved their unique spiritual practices, languages, and traditions. The dissertation demonstrates how cultural preservation promotes socioeconomic resilience and community solidarity, which are key for upward mobility, by emphasizing the preservation of the Gullah’s heritage through institutions such as the Penn Center and the Maroons’ successful negotiation of autonomy through treaties in 1738 and 1739. Additionally, this study explores the effects of acculturation versus acclimation on the socioeconomic and mental health outcomes of DOFE communities. It examines contemporary challenges, including land issues, and disputes over heirs’ property rights, and connects them to historical inequities that the Gullah and Maroons have encountered. The enduring struggle for autonomy of the Maroons was magnified by their persistent resistance to the Jamaican government’s attempts to reclaim their property. This dissertation also explores the relationship between gender and leadership focusing on the contributions of individuals such as Queen Nanny, Septima Clark, and Queen Quet. In conclusion, this dissertation argues that the historical legacies of the Gullah and Maroon communities serve as a model for contemporary DOFE empowerment. It provides actionable recommendations for policy reforms, grassroots advocacy, and cultural preservation to promote community resilience, address systemic challenges, and encourage unity within the African diaspora.