Joseph Opala

Jessica R. Pliley and Zoe Trodd, of the Gilder Lehrman Center’s Modern Slavery Working Group join Tom Thurston on this episode of Slavery and Its Legacies. 

Joseph Opala is an American anthropologist who lectures at Fourah Bay College (University of Sierra Leone). His study of the Sierra Leone—Gullah connection began in 1977, when he conducted an archaeological and historical survey of Bunce Island under a grant from the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities. In 1980, he did research in Oklahoma among the Seminole Freedmen and acted as an historical consultant for their community leaders. Since 1985, Mr. Opala has been actively engaged in spreading information on the Gullah in Sierra Leone speaking on SLBS, BBC, VOA, etc. and writing for the African press. He is a founder and cochairman of the Gullah Research Committee at Fourah Bay College, an interdisciplinary group committed to a thorough exploration of this important topic.

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