The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of West and Central Africans who were enslaved on the rice, cotton and indigo plantations of the south-eastern coast of the United States. Living on the coast and the sea islands, relatively isolated, they kept many African traditions alive in their language, crafts, food, music and beliefs.
In 2006 the United States Congress designated the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, running from Pender County, North Carolina, to St. Johns County, Florida, to recognise and help sustain this culture. A federal commission oversees it.