About

Vermelle and Andrew Rodrigues met when they were students at South Carolina State College in Orangeburg, SC. They traveled the United States advocating for the Gullah Geechee people. They gave lectures, presentations, and hands-on learning experiences on Gullah history and culture. She and Andrew worked closely with U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, an old friend from their days at South Carolina State College, to help create the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor (GGCHC). For more than three years, the couple conducted research that eventually helped gain federal approval of the GGCHC, an area designated by the U.S. Congress to recognize the important contributions made to America’s cultural and history by the Gullah Geechee people of coastal South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida.

Vermelle “Bunny” Smith Rodrigues was born and raised in Georgetown, S.C. She was a South Carolina Community Scholar in the Traditional Arts. and was known locally, regionally and nationally as an expert and advocate for the Gullah people and culture. A storyteller, folklorist, and community organizer, she was also an artist. Her Michelle Obama Story Quilt was featured in the 2013 Presidential Inauguration Parade in Washington, D.C., and is now part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Her Gullah Ooman Story Quilt was featured in the U.S. State Department's Art in Embassies (AIE) program and the quilt was for many years on the title wall of the Children's Museum of Houston's "Cum Yah Gullah" exhibit.

Andrew Rodrigues, J.D. was a historian, retired attorney, and Gullah Geechee and second-generation Cape Verdean-American. Born and raised in Boston, MA, he originally came to South Carolina on an athletic scholarship to South Carolina State College. He was a chemist by training but left his job with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after he attained a law degree from Suffolk University in Boston. He worked for the National Labor Relations Board until he received a job offer from Bethlehem Steel that he couldn’t refuse. He was the first and only African-American attorney to work in the Steel’s legal department. When he retired from Steel, he and Bunny moved to her hometown of Georgetown. A historian, researcher, and advocate, Andrew lectured widely on the African Diaspora and the historical, economic and cultural contributions of the Gullah people to America, especially South Carolina. He did extensive scholarly research on the cultivation of rice, indigo and open-range cattle ranching in South Carolina. His lectures were delivered from the Gullah perspective.

Bunny passed away in December 2015 and Andrew died in August 2023. The couple left a legacy that will live on in the many people whose lives they touched over the decades.