Size: 5.5 x 8.25
Pages: 232
Illustrations: 27 b&w halftones

Memoir & Biography
African American Studies
ebook
hardcover
Forthcoming
Books
South Carolina History & Culture

Descended

Searching for My Gullah-Geechee Roots

Keith Rushing

Paperback

Published:

Add to Cart

Hardcover
978-1-64336-562-6
Published: Apr 15 2025

$25.99

Add to Cart

Ebook
978-1-64336-563-3
Published: Apr 15 2025

Learn More

OA Ebook
978-1-64336-563-3
Published: Apr 15 2025

$0.00

Read Open Access

The inclusion of this book in the Open Carolina collection is made possible by the generous funding of

Overview
Author(s)
Reviews
Awards

A mysterious name initiates a journey to discover one family's past, and reveals more than was expected

It began with a name. Sancho. Gleaned from the memory of his oldest living relative, that name set author Keith Rushing on a quest to recover his family's story. Rushing came to learn that Sancho was an African name, a common practice among the Gullah-Geechee communities of the South Carolina and Georgia Sea Islands. He found that Sancho had been born into slavery on Hilton Head Island and later fought as a soldier in a war for self-emancipation. Rushing learned that after that war Sancho had become a small landowner. Above all, he discovered that his family's story was richer than he had ever imagined.

In Descended, Rushing recounts his own journey of discovery, and in the process unfurls a dramatic story about the transformation of Hilton Head. Descended is a story about family, place, and the desire to understand where we have been and where we are going.

Keith Rushing is a former reporter who worked at newspapers in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and California and now works as a communications strategist for an environmental nongovernmental organization.

Descended

Searching for My Gullah-Geechee Roots

Books, News & Resources!

Ordering

Requests

About