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Jabulile, The Gullah Storyteller
Posted Monday, February 16, 2026 12:00 pm
By Shelia L. Anderson
Carolyn grew up a talker. Man, she could talk! But to her credit, she also grew up to be a listener. Anybody could talk, but it is the art of listening that makes one a great storyteller. It takes a special ear to hear the value in a story. Some stories just have a way of touching the soul of the hearer. Not everyone can “hear it;” not everyone can “feel it.” But Carolyn does.
Carolyn Prioleau White, née, Caroline Elizabeth Brown, often heard mesmerizing stories that her father, Woodrow Prioleau told. These stories really grabbed Carolyn’s attention, and she internalized many of them. It was the “seed” that was planted in her, the “ear” for a good story that would develop into the art form of storytelling.
As a life-long member of Saint James Presbyterian Church (USA) on James Island, Carolyn often traveled with fellow church members by bus to various destinations as a Peacemaker. To entertain the group on these long bus rides, Carolyn would dig into her repertoire of stories deposited by her father. Her pastor at the time, Rev. Cornelius Campbell, encouraged her to “go public” with her stories—expand her audience. He had the “ear,” too. That was the beginning of “Jabulile, the Gullah Storyteller.”
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