Charles Hall was born in 1934 on Sapelo Island, Georgia—a small Gullah Geechee community founded on the fourth largest barrier island in the 1700s, 60 miles south of Savannah, in McIntosh County. Mr. Hall earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Morehouse College in Georgia and Physical Therapy certification from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. He worked as a physical therapist in Ohio until his retirement. Along with service in the United States Air Force, Mr. Hall served in prominent positions within community organizations in Ohio before moving back to Georgia. Upon his return, he became a founding member of the Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor Commission and president of the Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society. He worked tirelessly to preserve his culture for his five children and the children of other Gullah Geechee descendants until his death in 2014. 

Mr. Hall grew up knowing “the water was our friend.” Even after moving away, he frequently returned to Georgia with his family to expose his children to the Gullah Geechee culture, language, and food. Mr. Hall recalls that catching food was not the only important part of survival on the island but also preserving food—refrigeration was not available until the late 20th century. Residents relied on drying, salting, and smoking food for preservation over the winter months. Subsequently, the urgency and frequency of harvesting fish and other animals declined with refrigeration. Many of the folks Mr. Hall knew, who fished the waters off of Sapelo Island, are no longer around to share their maritime contributions. To ensure no more land or history is lost, Mr. Hall’s mission was “...to preserve the Gullah Geechee culture, tradition, language, food and to make sure we’ll forever be what we’ve always been.”