She is the author of an influential autobiographical book celebrating Gullah culture. She was a regular contributor to NPR and host of her own television cooking show. She was active in the civil rights and Black Power movements.
She was survived by her two daughters Kali Grosvenor-Henry, a poet, author, and essayist and Chandra Weinland-Brown, an actor, visual artist and poet, along with two grandchildren. Chandra's father was Oscar Weinland, a sculptor.