431-B East College Street
Granville, OH 43023
Phone: 740-321-1140
Toll free: 800-233-8787
Fax: 740-321-1141
mwpubco@mwpubco.com
Cynthia Holl Porcher
843-881-1911
CynthiaPorcher@gmail.com
Cynthia H. Porcher, a native of Charleston, SC, and a graduate of the University of South Carolina, is an independent consultant who works with research projects for state, federal, and private organizations. Her most recent research has focused on the Gullah/Geechee culture, the Underground Railroad in South Carolina, African-American historic sites in South Carolina, and family histories and lifestyles of both enslaved Africans and free people of color prior to the Civil War. She wrote the successful nomination for the Gullah/Geechee Coast to be named to the National Trust’s 11 Most Endangered List for 2005, and has been invited to speak at several national and international conferences and frequently guest lectures at local schools and colleges.
Porcher’s early work in Gullah communities was as a health outreach worker on a University of South Carolina grant to study parasites and malnutrition in the Beaufort County, SC, Sea Islands, during the late 1960s. Her most recent work as a principal field investigator on the Lowcountry Gullah Special Resource Study, returned her to some of the same communities. The SRS was funded by legislation introduced by Congressman James Clyburn, D-SC. The purpose of the study was to determine whether or not Gullah/Geechee culture has national significance and if so, does the National Park Service have a role in helping to preserve the Gullah/Geechee language and culture along the coasts and Sea Islands from just north of the NC/SC line to just south of the GA/FL line. As a result of the study, Clyburn introduced a bill in the 2005 session, which passed both houses. Gullah/Geechee people from throughout the Lowcountry have been chosen to serve on a commission to outline plans for the new Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor.
Ms. Porcher is available for lectures and book signings.
Topics:
1. Gullah and Geechee history and culture.
Terms:
1. For speaking engagements, the author requests reimbursement for travel expenses.
2. An honorarium is appreciated whenever possible.
3. Invitations to speak should be extended to the visiting author via the publisher.
4. The author's book published by McDonald & Woodward will be available on site, either through the visiting author or the sponsoring organization; contact us at 1-800-233-8787 for further information about buying our books.