Asha Stuart is a photographer, filmmaker, and National Geographic Explorer whose work focuses on sociocultural themes. Her passion for storytelling has taken her across the world—from documenting the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh to women’s issues in southern Africa. Asha’s story interests are rooted in the lives of people living in marginalized communities and facing injustice in areas of racial and economic inequality, social exclusion, women’s rights, and environmental issues. Her work has appeared on National Geographic, CNN, PBS, and other news outlets. In this video, Asha travels to St. Helena Island, South Carolina, United States, and develops a story about the Gullah Geechee people, a population descended from formerly enslaved people whose culture has been uniquely preserved by their geographical location.

This video was developed in partnership with Adobe, as part of a series of courses called Storytelling for Impact.

Transcript

- Culture is like the fabric of human society. The outside world is always fascinated by different communities and cultures. Each person inside of them has a desire to connect with people. For me, a compelling story is a story that has a lot of culture in it and a story that has something important to say about our world and our environment. It's important to get the youth perspective with things that are happening in our world. Each story that I tell definitely impacts me, whether it be documenting a tribal community in India or whether it be here in the Gullah Geechee community. My name is Asha Stuart and I am a "National Geographic" explorer. I think as a cultural anthropologist, there's a million ways that you can be in the field. I realized early on that through photography and filmmaking, I could connect with different people and cultures around the world. That was amazing. Thank you so much. Thank you.

- You like my mic?

- The current story I'm working on is documenting African-American communities across the Southern United States who are combating climate change and environmental issues in their communities. Right now, we're headed to Mosquito Beach, which is one of the last beaches that are occupied by the Gullah Geechee people in South Carolina. The Gullah Geechee people are an African diaspora community that came via slavery during the slave trade. They were able to get from slavery earlier than other African American communities across the United States, so through their food, through their music, through their language, they've been able to maintain African heritage more so than other African American communities in the United States. I feel like the thing I love about Gullah Geechee culture is that, like, I just went shopping just for some simple vegetables and, like, now we're taking shots of quail eggs and you're teaching me something that I had no idea about, so thank you. Cheers. Actually, that's, like, not bad at all. My approach is really coming from a place of collaboration. I'm talking to a lot of different people. I'm trying to understand their community, their culture, their problems, and then from there, I'm able to really go in and document the true nature of the community and the true issues that are happening.

- Climate change and things like that, it has eliminated a majority of the fishermen who live off the water. It has eliminated a lot of those jobs.

- I think students should become storytellers because our world is changing so fast. I think it's very important to document what's happening in your life. You know, create narratives and to take part of time. The voice of the youth is the future of our world, and it's important to listen to them. The biggest thing I can tell any storyteller is to be yourself, be true to the story, and be genuine. By being yourself, the whole world will open up to you.

Transcripción

- La cultura es como el tejido de la sociedad humana. El mundo exterior siempre está fascinado por las diferentes comunidades y culturas. Cada persona dentro suyo tiene el deseo de conectarse con los demás. Para mí, una historia cautivadora es una historia que tiene mucha cultura detrás y una historia que tiene algo importante que decir sobre nuestro mundo y nuestro entorno. Es importante tener la perspectiva de los jóvenes sobre lo que le pasa a nuestro mundo. Cada historia que cuento definitivamente me impacta, ya sea al documentar una comunidad tribal en la India o aquí, en la comunidad Gullah Geechee. Soy Asha Stuart y soy exploradora de National Geographic. Creo que, como antropóloga cultural, hay un millón de formas de trabajar. Me di cuenta pronto que a través de la fotografía y el cine, podía conectar con diferentes personas y culturas de todo el mundo. Eso fue increíble. Muchas gracias. Gracias.

- ¿Te gusta mi micrófono?

- La historia en la que estoy trabajando ahora documenta a las comunidades afroamericanas en todo el sur de Estados Unidos que combaten el cambio climático y los problemas ambientales en sus comunidades. En este momento, nos dirigimos a Mosquito Beach, que es una de las últimas playas habitadas por el pueblo Gullah Geechee en Carolina del Sur. El pueblo Gullah Geechee es una comunidad de la diáspora africana que llegó durante el comercio de esclavos. Lograron emanciparse antes que otras comunidades afroamericanas en todo Estados Unidos, así que a través de su comida, de su música y su idioma, han podido mantener la herencia africana más que otras comunidades afroamericanas en Estados Unidos. Siento que lo que más me gusta de la cultura Gullah Geechee es que, por ejemplo, fui a comprar unas verduras sencillas y ahora estamos tomando shots de huevos de codorniz y me estás enseñando algo que no tenía ni idea, así que gracias. Salud. De hecho no supo mal. Mi enfoque viene desde la colaboración. Hablo con muchas personas. Trato de entender sus comunidades, sus culturas, sus problemas. Y a partir de ahí, puedo entrar y documentar la verdadera naturaleza de la comunidad y sus verdaderos problemas.

- El cambio climático y esas cosas ha desplazado a la mayoría de los pescadores que viven del agua. Se ha desecho de muchos de esos trabajos.

- Creo que los estudiantes deberían narrar sus historias, porque nuestro mundo está cambiando muy rápido. Creo que es muy importante documentar lo que sucede en sus vidas. Ya saben, crear historias y tomarse el tiempo. La voz de los jóvenes es el futuro de nuestro mundo, y es importante escucharlos. Lo más importante que le puedo decir a cualquiera de ellos es que sea ellos mismos, que sean fieles a la historia y sean genuinos. Si son ellos mismos, todo el mundo se abrirá ante ellos.