Speakers & Performers
Culture, Celebration, and Community Consciousness
Queen Quet
Queen of The Gullah Geechee Nation
Queen Quet Marquetta L. Goodwine is a published author, computer scientist, lecturer, mathematician, historian, columnist, preservationist, environmental justice advocate, environmentalist, film consultant, and “The Art-ivist.” She is the founder of the premiere advocacy organization for the continuation of Gullah/Geechee culture, the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition. In 2021, Governor Henry McMaster presented Queen Quet with the highest honor given to a citizen in South Carolina. Queen Quet received the Order of the Palmetto Award for the work that she has done for her home state and especially in protecting and continuing the Gullah/Geechee culture.
Ras Kofi
Educator, Earth Activist, and Radio Host
Ras Kofi Kwayana (Ras Kofi Da Farmah) is an educator, veteran journalist and founder of OnDaFarm llc. As a radio host and producer of 26 years, his life work is the re introduction of the principles and practices of Agriculture into the mainstream pop culture. Raised in Guyana and schooled in the U.S, his experience in these societies has informed his perspective on the political, spiritual and physical implications of food justice, and the social landscape has inspired his approach to helping establish this human necessity. As a man of faith, he finds joy in speaking, entertaining and in other ways communicating with global audiences, as a means of extending an invitation to fellowship with the Creator by observing and harmonizing with His creation, known as "Mother Nature." He currently resides in Atlanta, Ga with his family.
OAV is positioned as the pinnacle center for learning, exploring and celebrating the ancient traditions and culture of the Yoruba people of present day West Africa. The vision of this unprecedented institution lends itself to flowering into a national and international ethnic, cultural, resource and service based community. With goals to cultivate media production (print and audio visual) facilities, ongoing sustainable agriculture/mari-culture initiatives, as well as import/export and entertainment conglomerate business ventures.
Bruce ingram
Storyteller
We, as a society, are connected to history not just in formal written
passage, but through the more personal acts of storytelling.
Storytelling is a unique way in which history is reveal to us in an
unscripted format. The story is told repeatedly and delivered from one
generation to the next with sacred regards. The stories do not become
diluted over time, richer, as previous characters are weaved into the
history of this narrative.
Its in this legacy pass down by his great-grandpa Steve who was a slave
that lived to be 114 years old which demonstrates Bruce Ingram
passion for storytelling. They tell a story told many moons ago before,
adding to histories accounts records worth preserving.
Eshe Chantana
Divine Goddess and Griot
Eshè Chantana is a griot with southern roots. Known for her freestyle performances, she just
might spit a prayer of poetry that hugs your soul. With an upbringing in black churches, she
utilizes praise dance ministry to invoke ancestral reverence.
Eshè Chantana is the creator of Spirit Eshè Goods, a holistic natural care ministry that offers
tools and services to support the mind, body, and spirit.
She is also the founder of the Living Room Manifestation Workshop Series, Birthing Wholeness
21 Day challenge, and cofounder of the Cultivate You rites of passage program. Eshè Chantana
uses written and spoken words to ignite transformational healing. An advocate of all things
natural and all things ancestral, she also serves as a doula, green space community organizer,
and Spiritual Life Coach. Eshè Chantana's mission is to guide the collective to honor our history, tell our stories, and create a vibrant life that aligns with our Soul.
Rita Daniels
Decendent of Harriet Tubman
In Auburn, New York (where Harriet Tubman lived for 52 years), Rita was born to Milton and Geraldine Copes-Daniels. She has six sisters and two brothers and is the fourth born. Rita has two adult children (Ronald and RiShana) – and four grandchildren (Kierra, Kalen, Mia, and Amiyah). Rita has earned both her master's degree in Education and a bachelor's degree in Human Resources (CUM LAUDE) at Trident University International.
Rita's goal is to continue this legacy through her Harriet Tubman Learning Center (HTLC). The Learning Center is a Literacy Program that includes Robotics, Youth Entrepreneurial classes, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) including cultural Art Programs provided to the underserved and underprivileged students. Many people are not aware that it is a known fact that Harriet Tubman died at the age of 92 as an illiterate. Illiteracy is problematic, and it is Rita's goal to combat illiteracy with your help!!! She realizes that she can't do it alone and therefore needs people who care about our failing education systems, to step up to the plate by getting involved. Rita's mission is to offer educational solutions to our youth at the HTLC.
Kofi Ksa
Mindful Magician
Geechie Motivator is a leading personality in the conscious comedy world, reaching over 9 million people across the globe with his edutainment.
Bringing more exposure to Gullah Geechee people and culture. Geechie travels the world using all of his social entrepreneurial efforts to bring life and resources to Afrikan people.
Shaman Alicia
African Shaman
Divinity is Eternal, founded in 2005, Science and the Divine teachers of the Metaphysical Arts. Center for Urban Shamanism Academy for Healing Arts. Helping other in the exploration of their spirituality.
Soledade Soleil Meira do Valle aka SOL
Herbalist and Acupuncturist
As a board certified acupuncturist, I enjoy being able to bridge the gap between holistic and
western medicine while providing a safe and nurturing atmosphere in which to heal. I strive to
incorporate my roots into my work and am always a student of ancestral medicines. Together we
can guide you to deeper levels of awareness and peace. Empowering patients to understand their
bodies and discover the gentle power of the healing arts is my goal. The more you participate,
the more you will gain. We will work together to solidify and achieve your health goals. I
believe that helping the body regain balance helps the body remember how to heal itself.
Establishing new patterns is the key to living the most fulfilling life starting today.
Iselyn Hamilton
Author
Iselyn has worked in nearly every field of Maternal Child, including but not limited to OB, Neonatal NICU, Newborn Nursery, and many more, so children and women have always been her passion and love. Her love of children led her to become a self-
published children’s book author in October 2021. To date Iselyn has published two children’s book in a 4-book series: MIMI, MEMA, YAYA, GAGA, NANA, GRANNY, BIG MAMA AND ME, and CHRISTMAS WITH MIMI, MEMAW, YAYA, GAGA, NANA, GRANNY, BIG MAMA AND ME. Both books are an ode to grandmothers and the celebration of the love they have for their grandchildren. Iselyn’s newest book soon to be released; DIFFERENT THAN ME, was inspired by a grandmother’s love of her grandchild of a different nationality who was adopted into her family. The book celebrates that a grandmother’s love has no racial boundaries because love can be different than you.
Eboni Q
Womb Love
Eboni Q is a healing facilitator with a passion for dance and women's holistic wellness. She is an attuned Reiki Healer and a certified womb steam professional with extensive knowledge in women's reproductive health. Through her own experiences with healing womb-disease, she discovered her childhood passion for movement and dance could serve as a tool for greater awareness, profound healing, and transformation. For the past 5 years she has been supporting women in reconnecting to their sacred center through sacred movement and womb work.
T' Afo Feimster
Artist
T’Afo Feimster is a native of Stony Point, NC, currently a resident of Charlotte NC. He is a graduate of North
Carolina Central University in Durham NC, and an IBM retiree. He is a self-taught visual artist, currently working as a full-time artist (T’Afo Arts LLC). He is the Founder and Executive Director of LATIBAH Collard Green Museum, a history museum, co-founder of ADEPT Artists Inc., a 501 c [3] non-profit
organization; founder and director of The Front Porch Theater Group, a theater company that performs historical re-enactments of significant events in black history, and developer and facilitator of TACT (The Art of Creative Thinking), a personal development and retention workshop.
Luana Graves
Cultural Influencer, Filmmaker: Harriet Tubman | From the Railroad to a Spy
A native-born New Yorker, Luana M. Graves Sellars, quickly discovered that weather wise, she was really "a mis-placed Floridian". Even though she has a degree in Journalism and Black History, she wasn’t prepared to live on Hilton Head Island, one of the most culturally rich and historic areas of the South. A passion for her Gullah Geechee roots led her to become a cultural influencer and preservationist through her writing, which is focused on educating others, as well as documenting Gullah culture, its history, and people. In 2021, she started her own company, Sankofa Communications and expanded into visual media, where she also writes, directs, and produces culturally focused video shorts and documentaries. Her passion for preserving the culture includes raising funds to protect historic Gullah land as the Founder of the nonprofit(s) Lowcountry Gullah and the Lowcountry Gullah Foundation. Luana is also a keynote speaker and community activist who is doing her part to sustain and preserve Gullah Geechee culture for future generations.
George Beatty
North Carolina Rice Festival and Film 'Gullah Geechee Foodways in Southeastern NC'
George Beatty, Jr., retired as President, Chamber of Commerce Division of the Greater Houston
Partnership in May of 2002. After retiring, Mr. Beatty opened and successfully operated an
environmental consulting firm until relocating to North Carolina in December of 2012. Also, after
retiring, he served as a director of Sterling Bancshares, Inc., a $6 billion NASDAQ-listed financial
corporation. He also served on the boards of several Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) and as a
volunteer director of several Houston are not-for-profit organizations. He continues to serve on REIT
boards and the board of AFRICAP, LLC, an investment firm with holdings in several African countries.