The Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce partners with Harvard U. for economic development

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Deadline for change: the Trotter Collaborative and the next generation of civil rights leaders

By Tom LoBiancoAt the William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice, Prof. Cornell William Brooks teaches students about effective advocacy tools, the history of successful social justice movements, and how to match the needs of local communities with the political realities of...

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Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce and Harvard University Collaborators Launch Bold Partnership for Economic Development and Cultural Innovation​

05/23/2025

Group photo following an inspiring economic development presentation at the William Monroe Trotter Collaborative, Harvard Kennedy School, April 30, 2025 — featuring (left to right) Navid Goodarzi, Amadu Massally (GGCC COO), Marilyn Hemingway (GGCC CEO/President), Cornell William Brooks (Director, William Monroe Trotter Collaborative, Harvard Kennedy School), Trenika Williams, and Jonathan Jayes-Green. Missing from the photo but present in spirit: Tremain Holloway


(Charleston, SC / Cambridge, MA) — Following a dynamic three-part convening, the Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce and representatives from the William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government have united behind a shared vision: to build a transformative economic recovery and development strategy rooted in cultural integrity, intergenerational wealth, and community-led governance. The partnership — launched through collaborative sessions held in both the South Carolina Lowcountry and at Harvard — brings together community leaders, scholars, and funders in a first-of-its-kind effort to fuse cultural authority with economic innovation.

“We didn’t come to be included. We came to integrate what we’ve already built,” said Marilyn Hemingway, President of the Gullah Geechee Chamber. “This is not just a plan. This is a replanting of power.”

Key Outcomes from the Meetings Include:​

• • Affirmation of the Gullah Geechee Chamber’s Role as a Coordinating Economic Engine A 5-year sustainability budget has been proposed to ensure long-term operations, leadership, and intergenerational program continuity.

• • Recognition of the Diaspora Council as a Cultural and Strategic Body The Council will ensure all initiatives align with the community’s cultural values, land protection efforts, and economic self-determination.

• • Alignment Around Authenticity A shared commitment to protect Gullah Geechee cultural expression and economic ownership — from festivals and branding to product design and trade routes.

• • Integrated Innovation Pathways Programming will connect Gullah Geechee youth, elders, business owners, and global diaspora partners to new economies — including technology, tourism, and cultural education.

A Model for Cultural and Economic Justice​

The integrated strategy — grounded in the community’s lived experience and historical resilience — is poised to become a national and global model for how historically excluded communities can lead their own recovery and regeneration.

“The Gullah Geechee corridor is rich in culture, cuisine, and unrealized capital. Throughout its existence, it has fed the world with rice, resources, freedoms, and the fruit of business and entrepreneurship,” said Cornell William Brooks, director of the William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice, Harvard Kennedy School. “In the 1700s the corridor was one of the wealthiest places in America. There is no greater time, no more propitious a moment than now to achieve an unprecedented level of economic development.”

 

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