Name: Roots and Routes: From Edisto to Florida (Session 2 of a 3-part series)
Start: 2025-08-21T18:00:00-04:00
End: 2025-08-21T20:00:00-04:00
Location: Mandarin Museum & Historical Society

Roots and Routes: From Edisto to Florida (Session 2 of a 3-part series)

Mandarin Museum is pleased to partner with the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor as they present Roots and Routes, a 3-part series amplifying the history and living legacy of Gullah Geechee people in Florida.
Sessions 1 and 3 are virtual. Session 2 will be virtual AND in person at Mandarin Museum. Admission is FREE.
📍 Session 2: From Edisto to Florida — A Family's Journey
🗓 Thursday, August 21st
🕕 6:00 – 7:00 pm: Refreshments & Mandarin Museum Tour
🕖 7:00 – 8:00 pm: Program (In person at Mandarin Museum, 11964 Mandarin Rd., Jacksonville, FL)
🎙 Featuring: Author Greg Estevez & Gullah Historian Elaine Ford Jackson
Greg Estevez, author of Edisto: The Migration to Florida, will share his family's journey from Edisto Island, SC to the Mandarin area of Florida, his use of Ancestry.com to trace his lineage, and how documenting personal history helps preserve collective heritage. Gullah Historian Elaine Ford Jackson will offer historical framing and personal reflections to deepen the conversation around cultural continuity and community resilience.
Session 2: From Edisto to Florida - A Family's Journey will also be available for virtual attendance. To pre-register, use the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/zI0ifDC9S9SmeW1-Gqz1jA
Information for VIRTUAL Sessions 1 & 3:
Session 1: Tracing Our Florida Roots
📅 Thursday, August 14 , 6:00 - 7:00 pm
📍 Virtual ONLY
✨ Featuring: Dr. Althea Sumpter, Ethenographer, Scholar, Geneaologist, Culture Keeper
Overview: An introduction to the Gullah Geechee presence in Florida. This session will highlight historical context, community memory, and cultural continuity.
Pre-registration for VIRTUAL Session 1: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/e5FrmJlPQEmCPcYzTB7GSg
Session 3: Honoring the Routes Forward
📅 Thursday, August 28, 6:00 - 7:00 pm
📍 Virtual ONLY
✨ Featuring Saundra Morene, Gullah Geechee Historian, Culture Keeper and Advocate
Overview: A community-centered reflection and call to action, looking at how we continue to preserve and amplify Gullah Geechee heritage in Florida and across the Corridor.
Pre-registration for VIRTUAL Session 3:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/HnxhLDW0TgCyPZeqQQi5lA
Special thanks to Amanda Jackson, GGCHC State Coordinator for Florida & Georgia, for organizing this series under the direction of GGCHC Interim Executive Director Djuanna Brockington.
Mandarin Museum's programming is supported, in part, by the City of Jacksonville and the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville through the competitive Cultural Service Grant Program.