Popular Interest
The homecomings Opala organized focused national attention on the Gullah Connection in Sierra Leone, and the people of that country responded with enthusiasm. When the first Gullah group made a pilgrimage to Bunce Island in 1989, hundreds of people came in boats and canoes to witness the historic occasion. Today, the "Gullah Connection" is an "evergreen" story in the Sierra Leone media, a story of continuing popular interest. Most Sierra Leoneans are now aware of their historical links to the Gullahs. The nation's high school history textbook covers the Gullah Connection. Several civic groups in Sierra Leone are dedicated to nurturing the country's family ties to the American Gullahs.
The "Gullah homecomings" also generated extensive publicity in South Carolina and Georgia. The documentary films based on those events have been broadcast repeatedly on local TV and shown in schools and colleges. Many Gullahs have now visited Sierra Leone. During Sierra Leone’s civil war, Gullah civic leaders lobbied the U.S. Congress, asking for help for their "ancestral homeland". Sierra Leonean immigrants in the U.S. have also taken a strong interest in the Gullah Connection, forming an organization called the "Sierra Leone-Gullah Heritage Association" to nurture the relationship in the United States. Sierra Leoneans and Gullahs now come together frequently at cultural festivals in the Low Country.
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