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Goddesses by Synthia SAINT JAMES Canvas Wall Art 3 Piece
Goddesses by Synthia SAINT JAMES Canvas Wall Art 3 Piece
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35″” x 35″” Juneteenth by Synthia Saint James Canvas Art Print – Masterpiece Art Gallery
Dancing in The Living Room (Girls) – Katherine Roundtree 24×32 Black Framed – African American Black Art Print Wall Decor Poster
Dancing in The Living Room (Girls) – Katherine Roundtree 24×32 Black Framed – African American Black Art Print Wall Decor Poster
Amanti Art Funeral Procession Framed Art Print
Amanti Art Funeral Procession Framed Art Print
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MASTER PIECE GATHERING GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 30X40
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HBCU’s Canvas Print
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GULLAH IMAGES: THE ART OF JONATHAN GREEN
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MASTER PIECE JOOK JOINT GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
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RING SHOUT GULLAH ISLANDS – UNFRAMED PRINT ON CANVAS WORLD MENAGERIE
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A Different World (TV) 11 x 17 TV Poster – Style A
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GULLAH GEECHEE HERITAGE IN THE GOLDEN ISLES (PAPERBACK)
Gullah Spirit: The Art of Jonathan Green
Gullah Spirit: The Art of Jonathan Green
227 – TV SHOW 80’S CLASSIC SHOW PRINT, GIFT FOR BEST FRIEND, FOR MOM, HOME DECOR, BLACK ART POP ART, FEMINIST
227 – TV SHOW 80’S CLASSIC SHOW PRINT, GIFT FOR BEST FRIEND, FOR MOM, HOME DECOR, BLACK ART POP ART, FEMINIST
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MY KIND OF NET ART PRINT BY GULLAH LIVING SERIES BY SAMANTHA CLAAR – X-LARGE
MASTER PIECE LESSONS GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
MASTER PIECE LESSONS GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
Yes. Jesus Loves Me (Religious) – Katherine Roundtree 16×20 Black Framed
Yes. Jesus Loves Me (Religious) – Katherine Roundtree 16×20 Black Framed
LEROY CAMPBELL CAREFREE HAND SIGNED AFRICAN AMERICAN ART
LEROY CAMPBELL CAREFREE HAND SIGNED AFRICAN AMERICAN ART
(27×40) Eve’s Bayou Movie Samuel L Jackson Lynn Whitfield Original Poster Print
(27×40) Eve’s Bayou Movie Samuel L Jackson Lynn Whitfield Original Poster Print
35″ X 35″ GULLAH GEECHEE CONJURE WOMAN BY SYNTHIA SAINT JAMES CANVAS ART PRINT – MASTERPIECE ART GALLERY
35″ X 35″ GULLAH GEECHEE CONJURE WOMAN BY SYNTHIA SAINT JAMES CANVAS ART PRINT – MASTERPIECE ART GALLERY
The Goodbye Kiss (Buffalo Soldier) – Katherine Roundtree 24×32 Black Framed – African American Black Art Print Wall Decor Poster
The Goodbye Kiss (Buffalo Soldier) – Katherine Roundtree 24×32 Black Framed – African American Black Art Print Wall Decor Poster
‘Beyonce’ Graphic Art Print on Wrapped Canvas Size: 18″ H x 26″ W x 1.5″ D
‘Beyonce’ Graphic Art Print on Wrapped Canvas Size: 18″ H x 26″ W x 1.5″ D
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America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities: A Narrative History, 1837-2009
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Brown Sugar Kitchen Cookbook
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Black Girl Baking: Wholesome Recipes Inspired by a Soulful Upbringing
In Pursuit of Flavor: The Beloved Classic Cookbook from the Acclaimed Author of The Taste of Country Cooking
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GULLAH DAYS: HILTON HEAD ISLANDERS BEFORE THE BRIDGE 1861-1956
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Black Women in Seafood: Deborah Pratt and Legacy as the Super Star of Oyster Schuckers

Black Women in Seafood: Deborah Pratt and Legacy as the Super Star of Oyster Schuckers

Earlier this year, Virginia State delegate Keith Hodges introduced Deborah Pratt to his House colleagues as the “Super Star of Oyster Shuckers.” On that day in February,The Virginia House of Delegates unanimously approved House Resolution 320, which honored Pratt for being a world class oyster shucker. And she is indeed world-class. 

Deborah Pratt has placed 2nd and 3rd in international oyster shucking competitions, placed in national competitions and is a winner of the annual Urbanna Oyster Festival shucking competition in Virginia. She is the daughter of two shuckers who met in an oyster shucking house and the sister of a competitive shucker. In fact, over 40 years ago, it was her sister Clementine Macon Boyd who taught Pratt how to shuck. The two have worked together and competed against each other. 

FMIB 34897 Tonging Oysters, Working the Tongs on the Bottom.

Shucking is more than a fun pastime for Pratt, shucking oysters is her way of life, which has afforded her the ability to make a living as she also represented her profession, region and home state in festival competitions as an integral part of the Virginia seafood industry. 

Pratt was born in Middlesex County, Virginia. Considered the center of the state’s oyster country, Middlesex once thrived as a major seafood port, contributing to Virginia’s economy with domestic and international export sales. In the 18th and early 19th century, immigrants were oyster shuckers. Black men oyster shucked by the mid-1800s with Black women ultimately working in most oyster houses as shuckers. 

As noted in an earlier BSB article, “there were the women who also found financial independence as fish and shellfish vendors to packinghouses, shuckers and as cooks. Author Margaret C. Simms (Slipping Through the Cracks Status of Black Women 2017) noted that the men were harvesters and women shucked oysters. Harvesting was hard but shucking involved putting hands, digits and veins at risk to shuck fast to meet next-to-impossible quotas simply to earn a day’s wage. It’s no small wonder that two Black women, sisters Deborah Pratt and Clementine Macon Boyd from the Chesapeake region of Virginia, are world champion oyster shuckers.”

Oyster shucking has taken Deborah Pratt as far away as Galway, Ireland several times, where she competed against shuckers from other oyster ports around the world. During one such competition, she shucked over 200 oysters in two minutes. Her ability to “stab” oysters in a clean way has given her another spotlight as a sought after oyster shucking workshop instructor. 

Do you love oysters and want an opportunity to meet Deborah Pratt? The Virginia State Oyster Shucking Competition takes place during the Urbanna Oyster Festival, November 3-4, 2023. 

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Robin Caldwell

Robin Caldwell is the blogger behind freshandfriedhard.com and academic researcher focusing on Black history, heritage and culture. Public historian primarily in Black American historical foodways: antebellum and regional.

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Robin Caldwell

Robin Caldwell is the blogger behind freshandfriedhard.com and academic researcher focusing on Black history, heritage and culture. Public historian primarily in Black American historical foodways: antebellum and regional.

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Shop Our Favorites!
LEROY CAMPBELL CAREFREE HAND SIGNED AFRICAN AMERICAN ART
Gullah Spirit: The Art of Jonathan Green
35″” x 35″” Juneteenth by Synthia Saint James Canvas Art Print – Masterpiece Art Gallery
‘Beyonce’ Graphic Art Print on Wrapped Canvas Size: 18″ H x 26″ W x 1.5″ D
HBCU’s Canvas Print
A Different World (TV) 11 x 17 TV Poster – Style A
(27×40) Eve’s Bayou Movie Samuel L Jackson Lynn Whitfield Original Poster Print
Yes. Jesus Loves Me (Religious) – Katherine Roundtree 16×20 Black Framed
Dancing in The Living Room (Girls) – Katherine Roundtree 24×32 Black Framed – African American Black Art Print Wall Decor Poster
The Goodbye Kiss (Buffalo Soldier) – Katherine Roundtree 24×32 Black Framed – African American Black Art Print Wall Decor Poster
Amanti Art Funeral Procession Framed Art Print
Goddesses by Synthia SAINT JAMES Canvas Wall Art 3 Piece
227 – TV SHOW 80’S CLASSIC SHOW PRINT, GIFT FOR BEST FRIEND, FOR MOM, HOME DECOR, BLACK ART POP ART, FEMINIST
MASTER PIECE LESSONS GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
GULLAH IMAGES: THE ART OF JONATHAN GREEN
GULLAH GEECHEE HERITAGE IN THE GOLDEN ISLES (PAPERBACK)
MASTER PIECE JOOK JOINT GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
MY KIND OF NET ART PRINT BY GULLAH LIVING SERIES BY SAMANTHA CLAAR – X-LARGE
35″ X 35″ GULLAH GEECHEE CONJURE WOMAN BY SYNTHIA SAINT JAMES CANVAS ART PRINT – MASTERPIECE ART GALLERY
RING SHOUT GULLAH ISLANDS – UNFRAMED PRINT ON CANVAS WORLD MENAGERIE
MASTER PIECE GATHERING GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 30X40
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