Letter to the Editor, Carolina Morning News, May 2002
'Gullah Tales' is a unique educational Web site
There's an exciting, educational thing happening on our computer screens, thanks to the folks at South Carolina Educational Television. And all we need to do to begin the discovery and the learning is visit www.knowitall.org.
Over the past year, in my capacity as director of Beaufort's Arts Council, I worked behind the scenes with hundreds of artists, educators and creative people. One of them was Amy Shumaker, the producer of a special educational Web site designed to tell about our state, its people and our cultural heritage.
She and her team came to the Arts Council of Beaufort County looking to build an entire Web site about the storytelling traditions of the Sea Islands, and they were quickly connected with local historians, Gullah experts, artisans and the remarkable storyteller Aunt Pearlie Sue (also known off stage as Anita Singleton Prather).
The result is "Gullah Tales," a unique educational Web site featuring Sea Island history and enchanting stories told in both English and the Gullah language by Beaufort's own Aunt Pearlie Sue. There's a special section just for teachers, lots of background information, and plans to build onto this creative learning project.
So the next time you're online or at the local library, visit www.knowitall.org and hear the story of "The Jealous Bragging Turtle," learn a little more about our local culture, and discover another great byproduct of an active, progressive, innovative arts council.
Eric Vaughn Holowacz
There's an exciting, educational thing happening on our computer screens, thanks to the folks at South Carolina Educational Television. And all we need to do to begin the discovery and the learning is visit www.knowitall.org.
Over the past year, in my capacity as director of Beaufort's Arts Council, I worked behind the scenes with hundreds of artists, educators and creative people. One of them was Amy Shumaker, the producer of a special educational Web site designed to tell about our state, its people and our cultural heritage.
She and her team came to the Arts Council of Beaufort County looking to build an entire Web site about the storytelling traditions of the Sea Islands, and they were quickly connected with local historians, Gullah experts, artisans and the remarkable storyteller Aunt Pearlie Sue (also known off stage as Anita Singleton Prather).
The result is "Gullah Tales," a unique educational Web site featuring Sea Island history and enchanting stories told in both English and the Gullah language by Beaufort's own Aunt Pearlie Sue. There's a special section just for teachers, lots of background information, and plans to build onto this creative learning project.
So the next time you're online or at the local library, visit www.knowitall.org and hear the story of "The Jealous Bragging Turtle," learn a little more about our local culture, and discover another great byproduct of an active, progressive, innovative arts council.
Eric Vaughn Holowacz