𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 — Secure Your Copy Before Launch Day April 28, 2026
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𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 — Secure Your Copy Before Launch Day April 28, 2026 📖
Jacksonville’s Gullah Geechee Heritage
Coming Soon!
Grab Your Copy Today!
PRE-SALE ORDERS NOW OPEN
Available April 28, 2026
A Community Story. A Cultural Record. A Call to Remember.
Jacksonville’s Gullah Geechee history lives in the land, the water, the neighborhoods, and the memories passed down through generations. Jacksonville’s Gullah Geechee Heritage brings those stories forward—rooted in place, shaped by community, and preserved for the future.
This Book Is About ‘US’
Jacksonville’s Gullah Geechee Heritage is a community-centered exploration of the people, places, and traditions that have shaped Jacksonville’s Black coastal communities. Through historical research, oral histories, and cultural landscape storytelling, this book documents a legacy that has too often been overlooked, minimized, or left out of the record.
This is a book about survival, connection, and belonging. It honors elders and ancestors, uplifts living traditions, and connects past to present—showing why Gullah Geechee heritage in Jacksonville still matters today.
Whether you were raised here, have family roots in the region, or are learning this history for the first time, this book invites you to witness, remember, and carry these stories forward.
Why This Book Matters Now
Jacksonville is rarely named in national conversations about Gullah Geechee history, yet its communities have long been part of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor.
Without documentation, stories risk being erased.
This book helps ensure Jacksonville’s Gullah Geechee history is not forgotten—by grounding it in place, centering community voices, and making it accessible to future generations.
Buying this book is not just a purchase. It is an act of preservation.
What You’ll Find Inside
The roots of Gullah Geechee culture in Northeast Florida
Stories of neighborhoods, waterways, churches, and family land
The impact of migration, development, and displacement
Cultural traditions tied to land, labor, and community life
Why preservation, planning, and storytelling matter for cultural survival
Who This Book Is For
Gullah Geechee descendants and community members
Jacksonville residents seeking a fuller understanding of local history
Educators, students, historians, and preservationists
Planners and cultural practitioners
Anyone who believes community history deserves care, accuracy, and respect
What Makes This Book Different
Unlike traditional history books, Jacksonville’s Gullah Geechee Heritage is grounded in community knowledge and lived experience.
This book:
Centers local voices and descendant communities
Connects history to present-day land, culture, and identity
Ties storytelling to preservation and planning
Makes academic research accessible and readable
Serves as both a cultural record and a teaching tool
It is written with care—for the people whose stories are told and for those who will carry them forward.
How This Book Can Be Used
A personal keepsake for families and descendants
A classroom or university resource
A reference for planners, preservationists, and advocates
A gift for anyone interested in Black history and coastal culture
A community conversation starter
What Are They Saying…
These stories matter. Your support helps keep them alive.
Purchase Jacksonville’s Gullah Geechee Heritage and be part of preserving Jacksonville’s cultural legacy. Help support the preservation of Jacksonville’s Gullah Geechee history.
Purchase the Book
Paperback
$24.99 + $5.00 shipping
Total: $29.99
Hardcover
$34.99 + $5.00 shipping
Total: $39.99
(U.S. shipping only. Taxes calculated at checkout.)
Meet the Authors
Ennis Davis, AICP
Principal (he/him)
Ennis is a planner with a passion for cultural heritage preservation and urban planning that dates to a childhood of listening to his ancestors pass down family history and stories of African American life in the racially segregated south. A sixth generation Floridian from Winter Haven, his desire for equitable community development and opportunity led him to pursue a Bachelor of Architecture degree at Florida A&M University.
A Gullah Geechee descendant with 25 years experience in the fields of planning, architecture and real estate development, Ennis is a public historian dedicated to inclusively uplifting people, communities and protecting their culture, heritage and sense of place. In addition, he is the President of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation’s Board of Directors, Groundwork Jacksonville Board member, author of the award-winning books Reclaiming Jacksonville, Cohen Brothers: The Big Store and Images of Modern America: Jacksonville, and co-founder of online media publications TheJaxsonmag.com and Moderncities.com.
Adrienne Burke, AICP, Esq.
Principal (she/her)
Adrienne is a planner and attorney whose love of history began as a child in Montgomery, Alabama and was solidified as a teenager in Virginia. Ultimately, this led her to pursue degrees in history and law, with an emphasis on African American history, land use, and historic preservation. Adrienne is passionate about the intersection of history, social justice and community healing, and the opportunity to work with communities to realize their planning goals through heritage and cultural storytelling and preservation.
Adrienne has over 17 years experience in local government land use and preservation planning and nonprofit management. She received her B.A. in history from the University of Virginia, and a Master’s Degree in Architectural Studies: Historic Preservation and a Juris Doctor, both from the University of Florida. She is Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee for the National Council on Public History, Secretary for Florida Avenue Main Street, and a CAMP Trainer with the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions.
