If you were to google “Gullah” you would find terms like Gullah-Gullah Island, Gullah language, food/restaurants, etc. So where did the term Geechee Gullah, or Ghulla-Geechee come from? What’s the true history around this interestingly POWERFUL development of black folks, who I hear, landed in South Caroling as FREE Men; but later became slaves. Tonight; We’ll find out, you should grab a seat?

In this week’s HOT-Seat is a Chosen Visionary you cannot afford to miss. This is the closest you might ever get to a historian of this caliber, who has directly involved in the fight for Civil Rights his entire life. You can sit with him capturing nuggets of wisdom and learning truths you can’t get anywhere else. You can ask good questions getting age-old answers (from someone who was there).

You cannot buy a ticket to this table, but if you are reading this; you have a divine reservation with your name on it. CLICK HERE to RESERVE A SEAT.

Three Books You Should Read:

1. Enduring The Call: A 14-Day Encounter, by Jocelyn Fagan ($14.00)
2. The ZOLA Experience: A Journey of Recovery From Loss, by Katurah A Bryant, LMFT ($14.99)
3. When The Heart Takes Flight, by Carla Yarbrough ($9.99)

Who’s In The HOT-Seat

Rev. Nelson B. Rivers, III

Pastor, Charity Missionary Baptist Church, North Charleston, SC, and Vice President, Religious Affairs and External Relations, National Action Network (NAN)

In July 2014, Rev. Rivers became Vice President of Religious Affairs and External Relations of the National Action Network (NAN) under the courageous leadership of the Rev. Al Sharpton. Rev. Rivers is honored to work with Rev. Sharpton in an organization known for taking action in todays’ civil rights battles.

In September 2008, Rev. Rivers became Pastor of Charity Missionary Baptist Church in the Liberty Hill community of North Charleston, SC. He is committed to preaching and teaching the “liberating good news”of Jesus Christ. 

For over 38 years Rev. Rivers worked at every level of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) including President, North Charleston, South Carolina Branch; Executive Director,South Carolina State Conference; Director, Southeast Region; Chief Operating Officer, twice as Chief of Field Operations, and Vice President of Stakeholder Relations from 2008 until May 2014.

His civil rights work led to the election of more than 300 new black elected officials in South Carolina between 1986 and 1994. He was a leading organizer of the largest civil rights demonstration in the history of South Carolina when over 50,000 marched in Columbia, SC, in January 2000 to demand the removal of the Confederate Battle Flag. Rev. Rivers was there when the flag was finally removed from the front of the capital in 2015.

Noteable Accomplishments

• PASTOR, Charity Missionary Baptist Church (North Charleston, SC)
• Appearances: Rev. Rivers has appeared on BET, NPR, CNN, MSNBC, Sky News, and 60 Minutes.
• Appearances: Rev. Rivers has a speaking role in the movie Separate but Equal starring Sidney Poitier.
• Appointments: to the Board of Directors of the Direct Action and Research Training Center, (DART); A national network of grassroots, nonprofit, congregation-based community organizations that brings people together
• Membership: Founding Member of CAJM in 2011; CAJM is an inter-faith, inter-religious, inter-racial group of 30 congregations and organizations in the Charleston, SC area doing justice through congregational work.
• Membership: immediate past co-president of the Charleston Area Justice Ministry (CAJM)
• Service: Board of Trustees of Wilberforce University from 1994 until 2014 and is now Trustee Emeritus.
• Speaker/Preacher: invited and spoke at the historic Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Al where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pastored. 

Three Movies You Should Buy

1. Gulla Gulla Island, Season 1 (3-Discs) by Nickelodeon ($14.99)
2. Songs Uv Dee Gullah Pee’Puls, by Matrix Media Inc. ($42.82)
3. Daughters of the Dust, by Kino International ($49.99)

What’s More?

Rev. Rivers’has received numerous awards for his civil rights and community work, include, but are not limited to:

• Honorary Doctor of Humanities Degree, Wilberforce University
• Induction in Wilberforce University Association Hall of Fame• Induction into the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame
• Medgar Evers Award of Excellence in 2004 as the top NAACP staff professional
• Honored with the month of October 2008 South Carolina African American Heritage Calendar
• 2016 H. E. DeCosta Trailblazer Award by South Carolina African American Heritage Commission
• 2018 Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Vision Award by the YWCA of Greater Charleston during their MLK Celebration
• 2018 Grimke Award Recipient from The Sophia Institute

Rev. Rivers is guided by the words of Jesus the Christ found in the Gospel of Mark 10:43: “Yet it shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.” He is honored to be a servant of the people of God!

He is married to the former Carolyn Smalls of Charleston and has five children and eight grandchildren. He received his bachelor’s degree from Wilberforce University in Ohio, which is the first private Black-owned and operated university in America. He is pursuing his Master of Divinity at Erskine Theological Seminary, Due West, SC. mHe is a lifelong servant in the fight for justice!

New To The Weekly Roundtable?

The Urban Academics Roundtable is your weekly dose of shareable content around Academics & Education. Each week, the goal is to educate, encourage, inform, inspire, lead, motivate, share, teach black, brown, and poor folks worldwide.

Who should attend? Administrators, Educators, Child Advocates, Entrepreneurs, Mental Health Professionals, Parents, Students, Upward Mobile Professionals, School Systems Interested in Change, Teachers, and any People Involved in Motivating Our Students Higher (P.I.M.O.S.H.) Affiliates.

Do You Have Questions?

Use the Comments Section Below to ask questions or to get in touch with this HOT-Seat Chosen Visionary, or with the Urban Academics staff. Ask away and she will get to your questions and quickly as possible.