USF Anthropology Professor Tapped by US Dept of Interior for Commission Position [10/31/2007]

by Denise O'Brien

One of 10 new national heritage areas designated in September 2006, the Gullah/Geechee Heritage Corridor includes coastal areas of northern Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. This Heritage Corridor recognizes the contributions to American culture and history by African slaves from west and central Africa and their descendants, known as Gullah/Geechee, who settled in this region after the Civil War. Designated by the United States Congress, national heritage areas are places where the natural environment and patterns of human activity combine to tell important stories about our nation. This new commission was established to carry out functions authorized and assigned by the National Heritage Act of 2006.

The 15-member commission is appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. Members come from South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina and are recognized experts in historic preservation, anthropology, and folklore. Dr. Jackson's expertise in anthropology and cultural heritage in the Southeast coastal region of the United States is recognized as an important asset for the commission.

Dr. Jackson and her students have done heritage research in local Tampa communities, such as Seminole Height and Sulphur Springs/Spring Hill, and helped develop a museum and heritage center in the latter community. Additional heritage research is being done in plantation communities in the U.S. and Caribbean, where the focus of their research is examining issues of power, race, place, class, and gender with respect to various technologies, as well as intergenerational knowledge transfer.

You can visit http://clyburn.house.gov/district-gullah.cfm to find out more information on the commission and the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. To learn more about Dr. Jackson and the USF Department of Anthropology Heritage Research Lab, please visit http://anthropology.usf.edu/research/projects/.

About the USF Collaborative for Children, Families & Communities The USF Collaborative is a recognized central point of contact, facilitator and matchmaker for new partnerships between University faculty and students, nationally known researchers, local government, service organizations and professionals to build a better Tampa Bay community. For more information about the Collaborative and its programs, visit http://www.usfcollab.usf.edu or contact the Collaborative director, Judi Jetson, at 813-974-7318, or Jetson@usfcollab.usf.edu.