Feature: Natalie Daise

Natalie Daise believes in storytelling as a way to not only educate, but also to carry on tradition. She believes that the act of having an “idea,” is the strongest and most influential power in the world. With an idea, you can create, and with creating, the possibilities are endless. You can create a way to shape minds, to change opinions, to instill new beliefs, and you can create a way to inspire. Natalie Daise is a storyteller, a singer, an artist, and more. She thrives in creative fields, and will always vouch for the creative side of things. She also says that optimism is “like a religion” to her, and that everyone has a creative side, sometimes you just have to understand it and how to pursue it. With an M.A. in Creativity Studies, she urges everyone to follow their creative side and use it for problem solving, educational purposes, and community building.

With her intense love for all things artistic, she also helped along with her husband in creating the Nickelodeon show “Gullah Gullah Island.” This show was an accurate and beautiful description of the Gullah culture and all of the meaning behind it. It was a celebration of dancing, singing, learning, and growing together while keeping in mind all the old traditions and practices that still stand to be important today. Though this show is no longer airing, it is still a testament to how important culture can truly be, especially through modernizations and advancements through time.

Now, Natalie Daise has brought us a new piece of culture, her book, Okra Stew: A Gullah Geechee Family Celebration. This book, like her show, is a celebration of food, love, and connection. This educational piece of literature features a father and son during their day of cooking. They make okra stew together, and in doing this capture what it was like to craft this recipe in actual Gullah culture. They pick vegetables and catch seafood, all the while learning what cooking actually means to community and family.

This book is highly recommended for a truly wholesome read with your child, and best news of all? It is available now at Binya!