My first trip to the South Carolina Sea Islands, in 1971, was life changing. I was an undergraduate anthropology major at the University of Michigan and had grown up in Michigan as well.  I was excited about the opportunity to learn more about southern black culture, because I had never spent any time in the south.

When I got to the Sea Islands I was moved by the beauty and shocked by the poverty; at that time, very few people on Wadmalaw Island, where I lived, had telephones, cars, or even running water.  I was stunned to come upon backwoods settlements that had changed very little in decades.

I was most deeply affected by the rich, fertile beauty of the Islands and by the strength and integrity of the families I met—natural wealth that belied the widespread material poverty.

I soon discovered that the Sea Islands were also as abundant in folk culture—ghost stories, animal tales, the Gullah language itself—as they were in animal and plant life. These first experiences among the Gullah people led me to a lifelong interest in African American history and culture......

I earned my doctorate in medical anthropology in 1980 from the University of California, Berkeley.  I am Vice President for Program and Strategy at Grantmakers In Health and was formerly a senior staff member of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC.

Scholarly reports I have coedited.  Contact me.