Marquetta Goodwine

Who is Marquetta Goodwine?

Marquetta L. Goodwine, who was elected Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, is a native of St. Helena Island, South Carolina She is an author, preservationist, and performance artist. The Gullah/Geechee corridor begins in North Carolina and extends southward to Jacksonville, Florida, encompassing the Sea Islands and the Lowcountry.

Goodwine is the founder of the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition. In 1999 she became the first Gullah to speak before the United Nations, giving testimony at an April 1 hearing of the Commission on Human Rights in Switzerland. She has since been invited to participate in the United Nations Forum on Minority Rights which was first established in 2008.

Goodwine is also the Chair of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor General Management Plan and Expert Commissioner for South Carolina. She is a member of the 15 person commission established by the United States Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Act which was passed by the United States Congress.

Goodwine served as a consultant for the 2000 Mel Gibson film The Patriot, which featured scenes set on the South Carolina coast of the Gullah/Geechee Nation.