i'm john herman blake. a seventh generation descendent of a woman who was enslaved on an island in the savannah river on a rice plantation. most of them came from west africa, sierra leone, and gambia. ♪ music it really began about the 18th century as the atlantic slave trade began to prosper. as people began on acquire property here, who saw the potential for growing rice and cotton, and they began to import africans who were enslaved on plantations. you could buy a plantation, buy 10 to 20 slaves and within three to five years have a complete return to your investment. daljit: dr. blake is executive director of the gullah geechee cultural heritage corridor commission. the geechee are descendents of slaves who settled in the u.s. state of georgia and the gullah known for their masterful story telling settled in the neighboring state of south carolina. ♪ music john: i interviewed a woman who was born in the 1880's. she would sit and almost howl as she talked to me saying, "oh, what a time, what a time. you'