'Behind God's Back'

When freedom came to enslaved Africans who toiled on rice plantations in lower Berkeley County, South Carolina, many remained to farm the land and raise their families in settlements near the plantation gates. Four generations later, their descendants have shared for the first time family joys and sorrows in Behind God’s Back: Gullah Memories of Cainhoy, Wando, Huger, Daniel Island, St. Thomas Island, South Carolina, by Charleston-based writer Herb Frazier and illustrated with the paintings of Columbia, South Carolina artist John W. Jones. Behind God’s Back is a compilation of accounts of the experiences of Gullah people who struggled after Emancipation, through the Depression and into the middle of the twentieth century to maintain their African-based lifestyles in rural communities near Charleston. Gullah people live in the coastal area of the Southeastern United States. They have preserved more of their African cultural heritage than any other black community in the country.

Herb Frazier is the public relations and marketing manager for Magnolia Plantation and Gardens near Charleston, SC. He grew up in the Ansonborough public housing projects in Charleston and at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He has edited and reported for five daily newspapers in the South, including his hometown paper, The Post and Courier. In 1990, the South Carolina Press Association named him Journalist of the Year. Frazier studied journalism at the University of South Carolina and taught newswriting as a visiting lecturer at Rhodes University in South Africa. He is a former Michigan Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan.

Artist John W. Jones, born in Columbia, SC, has been a freelance artist and illustrator for more than 25 years. His artwork is represented in several private and public collections including the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, the City of Charleston, Benedict College, The College of Charleston, and The Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site. He has lectured widely as an artist, activist and motivational speaker. Jones is the artist and author of the book and traveling exhibition, Confederate Currency: The Color of Money, Images of Slavery in Confederate and Southern States Currency. His paintings are available at Gallery Chuma in Charleston, SC.