GeeChee One Magazine reaches out to active urban community

With such a strong and historic presence throughout Charleston and the Southeast, the Gullah-Geechee community has, in recent years, become just as strong in print and online. Over 400 readers and counting have made GeeChee One Magazine where they go for the latest and greatest in the Geechee community.

The print and online magazine calls itself the urban guide to Geechee living. Its debut in April 2005 gave way to a bi-monthly publication that aims to educate, inspire and entertain through its pages.

"GeeChee One Magazine is a print publication that showcases South Carolina artists, writers, models and talent," said CEO, Founder and Senior Editor Felicia Abigail Rivers. "Our mission is to educate, inform, and entertain 18-34 year olds in the urban communities. We are a window for upcoming talent to voice their thoughts and opinions about life and culture."

"We would be considered more of a community magazine, so we publish articles about love, health, people you need to know, health related topics that deal with sex, AIDS, community leaders and more," she continued.

"People tend to put us as just a straight hip-hop magazine but we are more than that. Again we want more freelance writers to write on topics that interest them not just on the hip-hop world."

When it started, GeeChee One Magazine included many more recipes, poems and short stories than it does now. It strives to reflect the community it represents.

"I want GeeChee One Magazine to be a window that writers can express their opinions and thoughts and readers can learn something that they didn't know," Rivers said.

"I feel that we are being seen as a door opener for local artists, models, and writers. The streets are looking for more places to showcase the talent that we have here in Charleston and I am proud to be one of the windows that can make that happen. We are always looking to do community outreach with different organizations and people."

Rivers, a Charleston native, saw the opportunity while in college to create a publication focusing on a vast community that wasn't consistently covered in the media.

"I came up with GeeChee One Magazine while I was a senior at Claflin University," she said.

"At the time, I didn't know of any other print publications in the Charleston area and I wanted to do something different. The two titles that I came with was GeeChee One and Positive Images. I did a couple of reader surveys and stuck to the name GeeChee One because it was different and I wanted it to express the culture aspect."

In addition to GeeChee One Magazine, Rivers also created its accompaniment, the annual GeeChee One Awards.

"The GeeCheeOne Awards recognize and award talent that we have mostly here in Charleston," Rivers said. "There are not many outlets right now that are showcasing and actually awarding the talent that we have here in Charleston. I am proud to be that outlet."