The Gullah people are descendants of various African ethnic groups who were forced together on South Carolina plantations. But over the last 50 years, groups with centuries-old roots in America also have been dragged into the mainstream, including the Cajuns in Louisiana, highlanders in Appalachia, Native Americans in every state, and the Gullah people of coastal South Carolina. It’s the immigrant story of assimilation and loss, told by Irish Catholics in Boston, Russian Jews in New York, and Chinese Buddhists in San Francisco. Strangers move in and disrupt local traditions, elders complain about their heritage’s neglect and exploitation by outsiders, while young people leave home in droves to gain better jobs and education. For generations, an ethnic or religious clan, tightly knit by language and religion, huddles in a New World rural enclave or urban ghetto, enduring prejudice and poverty. It’s the oldest American story, told countless times.
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