How Black Artists in Charleston Are Shaping the City’s Vibrant Culture

Charleston’s rich cultural landscape is partly rooted in the thousands of West and Central Africans brought to the coastal Carolinas to labor on cotton, rice, and indigo plantations. Due to the isolation of these areas, including some barrier islands, the descendants of enslaved individuals were able to preserve certain aspects of their Indigenous African heritage.

From this history, a unique language called Gullah emerged, along with new artistic practices that fused traditional and American influences. Today, Charleston boasts many resident artists dedicated to keeping Gullah traditions alive.

Vocalist Quiana Parler

A prominent figure in the Lowcountry, Quiana Parler launched her professional singing career at The Carolina Opry, a musical variety show in Myrtle Beach. After making it to the top 48 on season two of American Idol in 2003, she has performed globally, sharing the stage with artists like Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Bobby McFerrin, Miranda Lambert, and Maroon 5.

Parler currently tours as the lead female vocalist, lyricist, and composer for Charleston’s two-time Grammy-winning jazz group, Ranky Tanky—named after a Gullah phrase meaning "work it" or "get funky." Alongside drummer Quentin Baxter, trumpet player Charlton Singleton, guitarist Clay Ross, and bassist Kevin Hamilton, she presents contemporary renditions of traditional Gullah songs, which were historically performed a cappella with body percussion, as well as original works.

Fifth Generation Basket Weaver Corey Alston

Basket weaving is a fundamental aspect of West African culture, with roots extending over three centuries. In South Carolina, sweetgrass—a flexible, perennial grass native to the Lowcountry islands—along with bulrush, pine needles, and palmetto leaves, was utilized by enslaved individuals to craft baskets for rice cultivation on the Sea Islands.

As a fifth-generation artisan, Corey Alston’s family has been creating traditional sweetgrass baskets for nearly a century. Following the traditions of his Gullah ancestors, he forages his own materials from the local environment, avoiding synthetics or machinery, and ensures the preservation of this craft by teaching his children. In 2022, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. commissioned Alston for a custom sweetgrass basket, which took four months to finish. Visitors to Charleston can find his creations at City Market.

Musical Innovator Charlton Singleton

Charlton Singleton is someone who seems destined for a life in music. Growing up just outside Charleston in Awendaw, South Carolina, he began his musical journey at the age of three with the piano. As the son of a preacher, he made his stage debut just a year later, performing Amazing Grace at church.

Singleton's path led him to a remarkable career as a sought-after performer, composer, arranger, and speaker—described by Charleston Magazine as 'a musical alchemist, a magician.' He has taught music at various educational levels, served as an adjunct faculty member at the College of Charleston, and co-founded both the Charleston Jazz Orchestra and Ranky Tanky, for which he earned a Grammy Award for the jazz and Gullah-inspired album Good Time in 2019.

In 2021, this talented artist was honored with the Governor’s Award, the highest recognition for the arts in South Carolina. Singleton currently holds the position of Artistic Director for the Charleston Jazz Orchestra, a nonprofit organization dedicated to performance, education, and outreach that celebrates the city’s rich jazz heritage.