By VICKI BROWN
The Summer Reading kickoff for children’s programming begins this Friday, June 18, at 10:00 a.m. on the Colleton County Memorial Library lawn.
The children who attend the kick-off will receive cookies and lemonade, and hear the theme song live with Carolyn Burns on piano and Ms. Shiela and La’Donna Heyward singing “Tails and Tales.”
The featured guest will be Queen Quet, or Marquetta L. Goodwine, who is an author, preservationist, and performance artist. She serves as Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation and has been a popular guest to the Colleton County Memorial Library in the Children’s Department for 21 years.
Goodwine is a native of St. Helena Island, attended Fordham College at Lincoln Center and double majored in computer science and mathematics. In 1996 she founded the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition. In 1999 she became the first Gullah to speak before the United Nations, giving testimony at a hearing of the Commission on Human Rights in Switzerland.
In 2002, Goodwine became “Queen Quet, chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation.” She serves as the Chair of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor General Management Plan and Expert Commissioner for South Carolina in a commission established by the United States Congress. Goodwine is a public advocate for the Gullah/Geechee Sea Islands in the face of increasing storm damage and ongoing flooding due to over-development and poor infrastructure maintenance. Her work includes advocating and the preservation of Gullah/Geechee cultural traditions and resources that are threatened due to gentrification and climate change.
Goodwine served as a consultant for the 2000 Mel Gibson film The Patriot, and for several historic documentaries, including This Far by Faith: The African American Religious Experience, The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, Slavery and the Making of America, Reconstruction: The Second Civil War, and The Will to Survive: The Story of the Gullah/Geechee Nation. She also lectures throughout the world.
This summer (June 18 – July 30, 2021), the Children’s Department will offer YouTube weekly programs (Wednesdays and Fridays) and at Colleton County Memorial Library with Ms. Literacy. A Photo Contest will be held this summer, of children reading, checking out books, watching us on YouTube, or doing any related library event is acceptable. All ages are welcomed, so make sure you are part of the fun, but we cater ages 0 – 12.
Six main benefits from the Summer Reading Program at the library will include: Improving reading skills; increasing a desire to read; improving self-esteem; neutralizing summer learning loss; improving comprehension; and improving memory skills.
Additionally, the programs are expected to be fun with live animals, and new and lively songs.
“We are thankful for grants, local donors and faithful volunteers!” said Shiela Keaise, children’s coordinator.
According to Keaise, the list of donors who have contributed to the summer program thus far are: the Coastal Community Foundation Beaufort Fund, Friends of the Colleton County Memorial Library, Versatile Vets, Southern Beauty, Cherry Keaise, Wayne Garrett, La’Donna Heyward, Millie Murray, Joyce Chaplin, and Pat Middleton.
