Y’all Remember 'Gullah Gullah Island'?

One of my favorite shows growing up was Gullah Gullah Island. I don’t know if it was because I instinctually recognized cultural similarities with the cast (I like to think that I didn’t see race in the way that I do now) or because they always provided me with songs that I loved to sing along to, but Gullah Gullah Island was a strong staple in my TV lineup as a kid and I think it’s time to stroll down memory lane.

Gullah Gullah Island is an American musical children's television series that was produced by and aired on the Nickelodeon network from 1994 to 1998. Categorized as a live-action show, it stars a Gullah family – Ron and Natalie Daise (real-life spouses), their sons James and Simeon, their daughter Shaina, their niece Vanessa, and everyone’s favorite pollywog Binyah Binyah – living on an island off the coast of South Carolina. It was the first show of its kind to star an African-American family set in an indigenously black community.

The format was part of a 'flexible-thinking' initiative that taught children to make good choices rather than using a rote memorization. Episodes were presented with a unified plot and not separate segments, featuring singing, dancing, learning and encouraging children to think about things like taking care of yourself, understanding feelings, animals, telling the truth, social skills, and problem-solving.

The show also highlights the culture and language of Gullah. Gullah Geechee refers to people who are descendants of once-enslaved Africans who live in the coastal villages of Georgia and South Carolina, including Ron’s home of St. Helena Island, South Carolina. Gullah Geechee an amalgamation of African language and cultures that were brought to America via that slave trade, in the same way that Creole is a fusion of Spanish, Italian, French, Caribbean, and African cuisines.

It was Ron Daise’s heritage that inspired him to make a show about a “magical island” inspired by elements of his upbringing. Its mixture of music, cuisine, and culture set it apart from not only the Nick Jr. lineup but also just about everything on TV at that time. It was praised for "vividly colored sets, infectious sing-alongs, unique character accents and quirky humor that defined the show and introduced millions of children to an overlooked but centuries-old branch of African American culture.”

“It’s important to me to make sure that Gullah Geechee culture is preserved because it’s a very important factor of American heritage,” explained Daise. “We wanted to make sure the portrayal was positive and didn't in any way poke fun at the culture or the community.”

In 1996, TV Guide named the show one of "10 best children's shows". During its original broadcast, it was Nickelodeon's highest-rating preschool show averaging more 750,000 viewers per episode.

"What attracted people to Barney was unconditional love," said executive producer Kathleen Minton. "What we wanted to do was take it to another level with the family." They took the concept of love within the family, projected on the friends of their children, and developed a show that presented a healthy lifestyle all the way around.

The family was always eating gumbo, jambalaya, and crawfish, meals that I hadn’t heard of before. Of course, they openly embraced their African culture in multiple aspects of the show, not just in the language used or the name of the pollywog – binyah meaning "been here a long time," as opposed to someone who has just moved to the sea islands. And although it was a pertinent point to share and spread the Gullah culture, the show celebrated diversity and embraced all culture. And most importantly, the cast broke the fourth wall in every episode and acknowledged the viewers with conversations and call-and-response type songs with dances.

My favorite point of the show, looking back on it as an adult, was the racial stereotypes that they broke with the father’s character. To have a black man married to the mother of all his children and to show his super healthy relationship with his kids and his family and his heritage, it’s something that is so foreign in this time that I don’t think that today’s kids would believe it. This type of life exists in a vacuum of perfection that I didn’t get a chance to experience.

And every day, twice a day, for thirty minutes apiece, kids were able to live this fairytale on this colorful and magical island.