The nuance of Africa resounds in Lowcountry life and the culture of a people lives on. Influences of Africa have touched South Carolina's coast since earliest exploration days, when Africans sailed with Spanish galleons 500 years ago. When the thousands of Africans, later enslaved, survived the middle passage to reach these shores, their ancestral traditions survived as well. With the people, Mende and Kisi, Malinke and Bantu came the soul of Africa, in their language, their music, their skills and their food preparation, the rich legacy of a hundred tribes.

The words "Gullah" and "Geechee" have come to describe that legacy. The Gullah language, a Creole blend of European and African tongues was born in the holding pens of Africa's slave coast, and matured on the isolated plantations of the coastal South. Gullah accents, words and intonations echo across the Carolina Sea Islands today. Here, survive the Gullah "shout", the Gullah rhythms translated from forbidden drums and the oldest of plantation melodies, reminders of a saved and sacred past.

Over bridges on the highway threading out from Beaufort lie historic islands like St. Helena, where during plantation life African-American pioneers "made land" from wilderness. Island roads stream out like dusty ribbons, past fields and woods, past patches of indigo growing wild, to arrive at Praise Houses, revered since their slavery day beginnings. Within the walls of these small structures, religious worship and African elder culture combined to uplift and console the people. Now, under the aegis of local churches, some continue in service to the present day.

Here, sweet grass basket weavers make their exquisite wares in the ancestral ways and display them by the road. African "long strip" quilting continues and people of all ages are called by their "basket" names. A fabric artist creates magic in indigo and chefs keep to the flavors of African rice coast foodways. Storytellers speak their fun and wisdom, choirs preserve the haunting songs, and scholars translate the Bible into Gullah.

On St. Helena Island stand the 17 buildings of Penn Center, established in 1862, as the first school for former slaves, newly free in the United States. Significant in African-American history from the time of emancipation, throughout the civil rights movement of the 1960's to the present day, this National Landmark District and active community center, preserves the unique past and enriches Lowcountry lives. It's conference facilities host people from around the world. Visitors to Penn Center and these islands can find accommodations in nearby Beaufort.

Island roads evoke memories of heroism. Serving beside the Massachusetts 54th, made famous in the movie,"Glory," were the five Gullah regiments, all recruited in Beaufort. Among them was the 1st South Carolina Volunteers, the earliest regiment of freed slaves in the South to be mustered into Union service. The home of Civil War hero, Robert Smalls still stands in Beaufort. Famous for escaping slavery by piloting a Confederate ship past rebel forces at Charleston Harbor and delivering it into Union hands in Beaufort, Smalls became the first African-American United States Congressman and a noted Gullah statesman. A striking memorial to this hero's life stands in the churchyard of Beaufort's Tabernacle Baptist Church, his burial place. The 1795 Beaufort Arsenal, now the Beaufort Museum, is located a few blocks away. This landmark once housed the Beaufort Light Infantry, a post-Civil War, African-American unit that included Smalls.

The popular Nickelodeon television series "Gullah Gullah Island" (a fictitious place) introduced youngsters nationwide to Lowcountry treasures. The series is no longer in production but many segments were filmed on location in the Lowcountry, the series starred Beaufort's Ron and Natalie Daise. The Gullah name of Binyah Binyah Polliwog, the show's fanciful frog, translates roughly to "always been here."

There are many ways to experience African-American heritage in the Lowcountry. You can join tours with knowledgeable local guides who can share insights into the Gullah heritage. Or, you can explore the Lowcountry's many oak-canopied byways on your own. The two major annual festivals also celebrate African-American culture: The Penn Center Heritage Days celebration takes place each November, while the Gullah Festival in Beaufort is staged each May. Hilton Head Island's Gullah Festival is held in February.