On July 15, 2010 Monet Murphy interviewed Leroy Beavers as part of the Georgia Black Fishermen oral history project.  Leroy grew up in a fishing family in McIntosh County in Sherman Bluff, Georgia — 30 miles south of Savannah.  His love for fishing, imparted by his grandfather, deepened as he grew older.  He fished often while stationed in various locations during his 20 years of military service.  Fishing taught him patience, which he incorporated into all aspects of his life.  After leaving the military, Leroy began working in his father’s barbersh

On July 14, 2010, Dr. Jolvan Morris interviewed Lucy Grant as part of the Georgia Black Fishermen oral history project. Lucy Grant was born in 1930 in the small coastal community of Sherman Bluff, Georgia in McIntosh County—30 miles south of Savannah. Fishing was essential in her family and community and throughout her married life. Her husband was a shrimp boat captain and they had three children. However, the family connection to fishing did not extend to her two sons, who hated fishing and chose to enter the military instead.

On August 12, 2014, Dr. Jolvan Morris interviewed Olive Smith as part of the Georgia Black Fishermen oral history project. Olive is one of the original members of the Harris Neck community in McIntosh County Georgia. She recalls how her mother provided food for the family by picking oysters at low tide during the winters and catching crabs. Olive's account is a brief glimpse of what life was like for the women of this fishing community.

On April 5, 2010, Dr. Dionne Hoskins interviewed Otis Hayward as part of the Georgia Black Fishermen oral history project. Otis comes from a long line of independent, nomadic commercial fishermen on both sides of his family. In his teenage years, he worked as a striker on his father’s boat and traveled far from his small hometown of Thunderbolt, Georgia—five miles southeast of Savannah, in Chatham County—to follow seasonally migrating shrimp along Florida’s Atlantic coastline.

On July 17, 2012, Dr.

On June 15, 2011 Dionne Hoskins interviewed Rebecca Bonds Bowen, better known as “Miss Sula,” as part of the Georgia Black Fishermen oral history project. Miss Sula was born in 1946 in Pin Point, Georgia—a small Gullah Geechee community founded in 1896, eleven miles southeast of Savannah, in Chatham County. Growing up, Miss Sula was often the primary caregiver for her younger siblings because her parents would leave early in the morning to either catch or pick crabs.

On August 28, 2014, Dr.

On November 2, 2015, Dr. Dionne Hoskins interviewed Stephanie Anderson as part of the Georgia Black Fishermen oral history project.  Stephanie Anderson grew up with a large, close-knit, extended family in Pin Point, Georgia—a small Gullah Geechee community founded in 1896.

On August 19, 2014, Dr. Jolvan Morris interviewed Wilson Moran as part of the Georgia Black Fishermen oral history project.  Wilson provides a firsthand account of traditional environmental stewardship and fishing practices within the Black community of Harris Neck before its transition into a wildlife refuge. Wilson reflects on his family’s history as commercial fishers, detailing the sustainable techniques they used, including seasonal fishing, culling undersized or egg-laden crabs, and replenishing oyster beds.