Carnegie Hall

The coastal low country of South Carolina was the port of entry for more than two-thirds of the enslaved Africans brought to the US. Those who were brought to plantations in the region’s Sea Islands came largely from West Africa, bringing their expertise in growing rice and other crops. Because of the islands’ isolation, the plantation owners often retreated to the mainland. As a result, the Gullah culture that developed was insulated from European influence and grew up on its own terms as a direct expression of African traditions. Enslaved Gullah people were also the first to be freed after the Civil War and became the first to be allowed to buy the land where they had worked for generations. Today some 200–300 thousand Gullah people live in Low Country of South Carolina and Georgia, nurturing a unique and independent culture which is increasingly endangered by encroaching development.

Quiana is dedicated to nurturing the Gullah musical traditions handed down by her ancestors and making them her own. As the lead singer and a composer and arranger for the Grammy Award–winning band Ranky Tanky, she’s been able to share that culture on a broad national and international stage. Quiana lives in Charleston, near her family’s 20-acre home, which has been passed down through several generations.