“Gullah Roots” follows leaders of the South Carolina and Georgia Gullah/Geechee communities as they experience a homecoming to Sierra Leone in December 2019. This is the fourth time Gullah/Geechee people have traveled to Sierra Leone to explore their roots. The first homecoming, in 1989, was the basis for SCETV’s “Family Across the Sea,” one of the station’s most popular and enduring programs. “Gullah Roots” reaffirms the ties between Gullah/Geechee people and West Africa, examines the challenges many in the Gullah/Geechee community face today, and explores the progress they have made since the first journey to Sierra Leone 30 years ago.

The cohort of travelers consisted of scholars, performers and cultural leaders on the cutting edge of current efforts to educate the general public about Gullah/Geechee heritage. After the trip, the filmmakers interviewed them to record their responses to the journey; their moving reactions to the similarities between Sierra Leonian culture and Gullah Geechee traditions – the food, music, dance, crafts and religious worship – form the emotional heart of the documentary. As one member of the group says, “It brought tears to my eyes – the connection was just so strong.”

The broadcast of “Gullah Roots” on SCETV garnered high Nielsen ratings – a 1.24, with viewership of 4,290 households in Columbia and 14,379 statewide.